LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hillsdale gave the Bellarmine University baseball team more than a little bit of an assist in the Knights' 6-5 victory in the opener, but BU didn't need a sliver of help in the Knights' 7-1 romp in the tail end of a Saturday doubleheader.
In Bellarmine's home debut, sophomore right fielder
Alex Phillips laced a walk-off RBI single against the error-plagued Chargers (1-5) to seal the first game for the Knights (4-4), while sophomore third baseman
Josh Finerty's three-run homer and junior left hander
Hunter Spencer's complete game highlighted the finale.
Both games were scheduled for seven innings, but the opener went eight. With the score tied at 5 in the eighth, senior catcher
Michael Belliveau and freshman center fielder
Bobby Brokamp both reached on errors, the fifth and sixth of the contest for Hillsdale. Phillips made the Chargers pay by singling through the right side against reliever Jeff Burch (0-2) and bringing home freshman pinch runner
Casey Womack with the winning run.
Phillips went 3 for 5 in the initial game while junior second baseman
Alex Ralph and junior shortstop
Drew Greenwood added two hits apiece. Junior left fielder
Griffin Neuer had a pair of RBIs.
Neuer had a sacrifice fly in Bellarmine's four-run fifth that bumped the Knights' lead to 5-3. Finerty and Ralph added RBI singles in the frame. An errant pickoff throw led to another run for Bellarmine before Hillsdale tied it up at 5 with a two-run homer in the sixth.
Senior right-hander
Will Birch (1-0) earned the win after striking out two in 1.0 scoreless inning of relief. Sophomore left-hander
Eddie Mathis struck out eight while allowing three earned runs in 7.0 innings.
Spencer (1-2) overcame a leadoff homer by Colin Boerst to open the second game to earn his first victory of the season. The reigning Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year didn't yield another run and struck out eight while allowing seven hits in the complete-game win.
Bellarmine posted a decisive five-run third in the tail end. After base hits by Belliveau and Phillips, Neuer whizzed a two-run single through the right side. Finerty followed by smashing a three-run drive to left center off starter Kolton Rominski (0-1) for his first home run of the season.
Neuer and Greenwood added some insurance with RBIs in the fourth and fifth innings as Bellarmine tallied 12 hits. Phillips, Neuer, Ralph and senior designated hitter
Christopher Allen had two hits apiece in the tail end. Neuer matched Finerty with three RBIs.
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GAME 1 BOX SCORE (HTM)
GAME 2 BOX SCORE (HTM)
