LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a damp and frigid Friday afternoon at Knights Field, it indeed took a while for the Bellarmine University baseball team to heat up.
But the Knights finally did in the seventh inning, piling up nine runs against Parkside to blow open what had been a tight contest between the former Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals en route to an 11-4 victory.
Bellarmine (4-4) racked up 12 hits against the Rangers (0-7) in winning its third straight game. Junior third baseman
Deylen Miley, sophomore shortstop
Clayton Mehlbauer and sophomore second baseman
Justin Rouse notched two hits each.
Kyle Beach (1-1) earned the win after firing 5.0 shutouts innings. The senior right-hander allowed only two hits while striking out five. Junior right-hander
Anthony Ethington tossed 3.0 innings of relief, yielding one run on two hits.
Bellarmine scored one run each in the first and fourth, but Beach and Ethington held off Parkside until the Knights erupted for nine runs in the seventh inning. Miley led off the frame and triggered the outburst by ripping a double down the left-field line.
Senior first baseman
Tyler Neeley followed with a walk, and freshman pinch hitter
Jack Ockerman laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that turned into a single. A throwing error on the play brought in Miley for a 3-1 lead, and Bellarmine was just getting started with the run production.
Sophomore catcher
Alex Cleverly and sophomore left fielder
Matt Higgins both had RBI singles in the inning, and Neeley came around to bat again and swatted an RBI double. Senior right fielder
Zac Wiley contributed a sacrifice fly in the frame as the Knights took full advantage of some Parkside control issues while scoring the nine runs on five hits.
Neeley had a sacrifice fly in the first, and Mehlbauer singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the fourth.
Bellarmine will host Hillsdale in doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday. First pitch both days at Knights Field is set for noon (ET).
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