LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University baseball team celebrated its Senior Day and final regular-season games at Knights Field with a sweep of Lewis in Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Saturday by scores of 12-2 and 6-3.
It was the second-straight four-game sweep for the Knights (31-15, 18-6 GLVC) after they took down then-No. 12 Indianapolis in every contest the previous weekend. Behind nine victories in a row, tying its longest winning streak since 2010, Bellarmine broke the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2013. With four regular-season games left, the Knights easily clinched a spot in the GLVC Tournament for a third-consecutive year.
Fittingly, Bellarmine's seniors played critical roles in Saturday's sweep of Lewis (12-33, 6-18). In the opening romp, senior catcher
Michael Belliveau delivered a pair of base hits and an RBI.
Mason Womack scored a run and senior right-hander
Griffin Caron tossed 1.0 perfect inning of relief.
In the second game, senior catcher
Christopher Allen ripped a pair of doubles and had two RBIs. Right-hander
Zach Williams fired 1.0 scoreless inning of relief, and senior right-hander
Will Birch came on to record the final out and his third save of the season.
Freshman right-hander
Jacob Nagel (1-0) posted his first collegiate win in the opener, allowing one earned run on five hits in 6.0 innings pitched. Sophomore third baseman
Josh Finerty tallied three doubles and three RBIs, freshman center fielder
Bobby Brokamp was 2 for 2 with two RBIs, and Belliveau and sophomore right fielder
Zac Wiley had two hits apiece.
Bellarmine led 4-1 after four innings but cruised to the victory after scoring seven runs in the fifth. Finerty doubled twice in the frame, with the second scoring two runs. Junior designated hitter
Brady Pfaadt had an RBI double while junior second baseman
Alex Ralph, Brokamp and Wiley added RBI singles in the stanza.
A Finerty sacrifice fly and Ralph RBI single gave Bellarmine a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the series finale. Brokamp had an RBI single in the fourth and, in the fifth, Allen belted a two-run double and sophomore first baseman
Tyler Neeley chipped in an RBI single for a 6-0 advantage.
The Flyers scored two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh, but Williams followed with a scoreless eighth and Birch sealed the victory in the ninth after freshman right-hander
Duncan Amrein induced a double play for the first two outs. Sophomore left-hander
Alex Phillips moved to 5-0 after hurling 5.0 shutout innings.
Junior shortstop
Drew Greenwood, who has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 outings, went 3 for 5 in recording his ninth multi-hit game in that stretch. Allen delivered the team's other multi-hit performance.
Bellarmine closes the regular season with doubleheaders Friday and Saturday at Wisconsin-Parkside.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE (HTM)
GAME 2 BOX SCORE (HTM)
