SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—The Bellarmine University softball team was swept on Saturday afternoon in a road Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader, falling to league-leading Illinois Springfield by the scores of 9-1 and 6-5.
In the opener, Bellarmine stayed close with the hosts over the first three innings, but UIS broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run fourth inning before adding two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to end the game due to the 8-run rule.
Bellarmine banged out eight hits, led by
Lillie Nitzken,
Ciara Incorvati and
Katie Stamper with two each. The Knights' lone run came in the top of the fourth when pinch runner
Kaitlin Barbiere scored from third on a wild pitch.
The nightcap was a heart-breaking loss for Knights, who saw the Prairie Stars pull out a seventh inning comeback to record the 6-5 win.
Bellarmine scratched out a run in the first when
Rachel Ayer laid down a bunt to score
Sabrina Fussenegger, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the game.
The Knights added two more in the top of the second with Nitzken delivering a two-out single to plate Fussenegger and
Taylor Poindexter. Bellarmine saw its lead increase to 4-0 in the fifth when
Paige Dabney smacked a double to center field to drive in Barbiere, who had come on to run for Incorvati.
Knights starting pitcher
Madeline Kurtz limited Illinois Springfield to just one run over the first five innings, but the host Prairie Stars broke through for three runs in the home half of the sixth to knot the score at four apiece.
Bellarmine pushed the go-ahead run across the plate in the top of the seventh as
Samantha Smith and Dabney hit back-to-back singles with two outs to score Incorvati.
However, the Knights couldn't make the lead hold up as Illinois Springfield loaded the bases and Bree Derhake came through with a double for the Prairie Stars to drive in two runs to end the game.
The Knights fall to 12-20 on the season and 3-11 in conference games. The Prairie Stars improve to 25-10, 12-2 GLVC.
Bellarmine returns to action on Saturday with a doubleheader at Quincy. The Hawks are 11-19 overall and 1-11 in GLVC play.
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HTM BOX SCORE (GAME 1)
HTM BOX SCORE (GAME 2)
