ST. LOUIS — The Bellarmine University baseball team got thumped and then did the thumping.
On Saturday at UMSL Baseball Field in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, the Knights regrouped after a 15-5 loss to the Tritons in the opening game of a doubleheader to post a 12-2 victory in the tail end.
Bellarmine (10-8, 3-2 GLVC) racked up 14 hits in the second game after collecting only five in the first contest. Senior left-hander
Alex Phillips tossed a gem against Missouri-St. Louis (3-13, 2-3) in the tail end to complement the strong all-around effort.
Game 1: Missouri-St. Louis 15, Bellarmine 5
Senior right fielder
Zac Wiley launched a go-ahead two-run homer in the third, but Missouri-St. Louis responded with four runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good.
Bellarmine would cut its deficit to 5-3 in the sixth, but the Tritons posted five runs in the seventh and reached the mercy rule with four runs in the eighth. UMSL registered 15 hits.
Senior first baseman
Tyler Neeley cranked his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot in the sixth. Neeley and Wiley are tied for the team lead with five home runs each. Wiley had two of Bellarmine's five hits.
Game 2: Bellarmine 12, Missouri-St. Louis 2
Phillips (1-0) fired a complete game and piled up 10 strikeouts while allowing one earned run on four hits in 7.0 innings as the Knights turned the tables and won by the mercy rule.
Bellarmine pounced on the Tritons with seven runs in the first inning. The Knights had five hits in the frame and UMSL committed a pair of errors leading to four of the seven runs being unearned.
Junior catcher
Chris Gambert creamed a two-run homer in the second inning for his fourth round-tripper of the season. The Knights tacked on three more runs in the sixth as senior designated hitter
Derek Burns and freshman left fielder
A.J. Arnold both had RBI singles.
Wiley led the 14-hit attack with a 3-for-5 outing. Sophomore center fielder
Matt Higgins, Gambert, Arnold and sophomore second baseman
Justin Rouse tallied two hits apiece.
The teams will conclude the series with a single game Sunday starting at 1 p.m. (ET).
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GAME 1 BOX SCORE (HTM)
GAME 2 BOX SCORE (HTM)
