LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University softball team pulled off the doubleheader sweep over Quincy on Senior Day as the six Bellarmine seniors combined for 13 hits in the two Great Lakes Valley Conference games.
 
The Knights, who were outhit in both contests, managed to take game one 8-5 and held on to win the tail end 7-6.
 
Bellarmine pitchers Sabrina Fussenegger and Marlee Tevis each picked up a win and a save on the day with Fussenegger getting the game one start and win while Tevis started and won game two.
 
Prior to the games, Bellarmine honored seniors Marley Edwards, Kelly Ely, Rachel Fox, Melissa Hammer, Erica Knollman and Olivia Russell who were playing their next-to-last home doubleheaders of their Bellarmine careers.
 
Edwards made the most of her senior day by going 2-for-3 in each game while Erica Knollman notched four hits on the day as well, falling just a double short of hitting for the cycle.
 
The Knights improve to 23-25 overall and keep their postseason hopes alive by moving to 11-13 in the GLVC. The Hawks fall to 15-25, 7-17 GLVC.
 
Bellarmine closes out its home schedule tomorrow with a doubleheader against Truman State. Game times are scheduled for noon and 2 p.m.
 
GAME 1: BU 8, QU 5 (HTM BOX SCORE)
 
Bellarmine jumped on the Hawks early as Knollman led off the bottom of the first with a triple down the right field line and scored on a Quincy error. Paige Dabney, who drew a walk, also scored in the inning thanks to another Hawk overthrow.
 
The Knights extended their lead to 5-0 in the third inning with Dabney providing a double and Incorvati slapping a single for the only hits of the inning as Bellarmine again took advantage of Quincy miscues to score.
 
The Hawks rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth with Quincy center fielder cranking a three-run homer as the Hawks totaled six hits in the inning.
 
In the home half of the fourth, the Knights got two of those runs back when Knollman belted a two-run shot to left center.
 
The first pitch of the fifth inning resulted in a screaming line drive off the bat of Lindsey Greene that had just enough height to clear the fence in left for a solo homer and trim the Bellarmine lead to 7-5.  However, the Knights got out of a bases-loaded situation without surrendering any more runs to keep the lead at two.
 
Bellarmine wrapped the game's scoring in the bottom of the fifth when Knollman again came through for the Knights, delivering a bases-loaded single to drive in Tevis.
 
For the game, Quincy held a 14-11 advantage in hits, but the Knights scored three unearned runs to make up the difference. Knollman finished the game with an impressive stat line, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three runs batted in.
 
 
GAME 2:  BU 7, QU 6 (HTM BOX SCORE)
 
After a scoreless first, the Knights opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the second, hanging four runs on the board behind five base hits. Lillie Nitzken and Dabney each doubled in the frame while half of the team's seniors (Edwards, Hammer and Fox) rapped singles.
 
The Hawks struck back with a lone run in the third, but Bellarmine ran out to a 7-1 lead an inning later.  Edwards, Hammer and Knollman hit back-to-back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the fourth. Fox then hit a grounder to that was fielded cleanly but the throw home was wide of the plate, allowing both Edwards and Hammer to score. Dabney then hit an RBI single that plated Knollman.
 
Quincy slowly began fighting back, banging out four hits to score twice in the top of the fifth.  Then in the sixth, the Hawks's offense continued to click. Quincy scored three runs on five hits and had runners on second and third with just one out and trailing 7-6, but Fussenegger induced a shallow fly ball to left then got out of the jam with by striking out Walsh on three pitches.
 
After the Knights were retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, the Hawks suffered the same fate in the top of the seventh as Bellarmine hung on for the win.