SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Bellarmine University baseball team clearly didn't want its stay in the DII NCAA Tournament to be a quick one.

On Friday at Robin Roberts Stadium in an NCAA Midwest Regional elimination game, the Knights pounced on No. 16 Northwood for all six of their runs in the first three innings and senior left-hander Hunter Spencer took care of the rest in a 6-1 victory.

Bellarmine (38-18) will meet the Quincy-Illinois Springfield loser in an elimination game at noon (ET) Saturday.

Two-seed Bellarmine regrouped against three-seed Northwood (38-16) after falling in a 12-inning affair Thursday to Southern Indiana. Spencer (7-2) was the catalyst, allowing a single run on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts in a 9.0-inning complete game. The Timberwolves' lone run came on a solo homer in the sixth.

Spencer didn't allow more than one batter to reach base in an inning after the second. The result was his fourth complete game of the season and first 9.0-inning effort. The southpaw sealed the victory with a strikeout.

On the flipside, Bellarmine handed Ian Dimitrie (10-3) a rare loss. All the damage came in the second and third innings, where the Knights plated four and then two runs to build a comfortable lead.

In the second, senior left fielder Griffin Neuer singled and advanced to second on a strange error where the outfielder appeared to get the ball stuck in his jersey. Junior third baseman Josh Finerty followed with an RBI single and eventually scored after an infield single by freshman designated hitter Matt Higgins.

Senior second baseman Alex Ralph, who singled, scored on Higgins' base hit and Finerty came around on a throwing error on the play. Junior center fielder Alex Phillips made it 4-0 with an RBI double.

Bellarmine pushed across two more runs in the third. Neuer and Ralph both singled and senior catcher Brady Pfaadt drove them both in when he slammed a two-run double off the wall. Later, Pfaadt threatened the 415-foot sign in center before cruising into second with a long double.

Bellarmine's offense was held in check after the third, but Spencer made that a moot point. Neuer, Ralph and Pfaadt had two hits apiece.

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.