LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University softball team split a doubleheader with the visiting Truman State Bulldogs in Great Lakes Valley Conference action today as the Knights closed out their home schedule.
Bellarmine opened with a 3-1 victory, but the Bulldogs put eight runs on the board in the first inning of game two and went on to post a 9-1 win in five innings.
Bellarmine moves to 24-26 on the year with a 12-14 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs are now 33-19, 16-10 GLVC.
At two games below .500 in league play, the Knights are in a three-way tie for ninth place in the GLVC standings with Lewis and Maryville. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason conference championship tournament,. Indianapolis currently sits alone in eighth place with a 13-13 GLVC record.
Bellarmine has just four regular season games remaining—doubleheaders this weekend at Maryville and at Missouri-St. Louis.
GAME 1: BU 3, TSU 1 (
HTM BOX SCORE)
The Knights broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third when
Erica Knollman,
Rachel Fox and
Paige Dabney hit consecutive singles to score the game's first run.
Olivia Russell, was then called on to bunt, but popped up in foul ground to the catcher, who tried to double up Fox on third. However, the throw ended up in left field, and Fox trotted home with the Knights' second run. After
Kelly Ely drew a walk, Bellarmine catcher
Ciara Incorvati delivered an RBI single to plate
Kaitlin Barbiere, who was running for Dabney.
The Bulldogs got a run back in the top of the fourth when catcher Lex Van Nostrand smacked a homer to left field.
Bellarmine pitcher
Sabrina Fussenegger, however, turned in a solid performance, scattering nine hits—three of them by Christa Reisinger, who leads the GLVC in hitting—to pick up her 15th win of the season.
Fox paced the Knights' offense, also recording three hits in the game.
GAME 2: TSU 9, BU 1 (
HTM BOX SCORE)
The second game started on a positive note for the Knights, as they retired the hot-hitting Reisinger to start the game. However, the Bulldogs then uncorked back-to-back doubles to score the game's first run. Then, they reeled off six singles to go along with a walk to score seven more runs in the inning.
The Knights battled back in the home half of the first, with Fox singling and scoring when Dabney followed with a smash off the center field fence that went for a double. However, Bellarmine couldn't sustain the offense and the rally ended with just one run.
Truman State turned a leadoff walk into a run in the second inning by rapping out two more singles to extend the lead back to eight at 9-1.
The offense then dried up for both teams as they combined for just four base hits the remainder of the game, with the run-rule coming into effect after the fifth.
