QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy Hawks were able to shut down the Bellarmine offense on Saturday afternoon as they took the rubber match of the series by a score of 4-0.

The Hawks (29-9, 21-6 GLVC) stay atop the GLVC standings after toppling the Knights (24-18, 15-12 GLVC) thanks to a stellar pitching performance by Nick Stroud.

Quincy was able to get on the board early with a pair of RBI singles to left field in the first and third innings to grab a quick 2-0 lead. In the sixth, Nolan Snyder added some insurance runs for the Hawks, blasting a two-run homer to right.

That is all Quincy would need in this one, as the Knights could never get anything going offensively against Stroud. Bellarmine was only able to muster four hits on the day and only two men reached scoring position. Stroud ended with a complete game shutout and 18 strikeouts.

Saturday marked the first time all season that the Bellarmine offense was shutout. The usually potent offense is leading the GLVC with a team batting average of .328 while averaging over eight runs per contest this season. The previous season-low for the Knights was two runs against West Georgia, Lee, and game one of this series versus Quincy.

Chris Gambert was a bright spot for Bellarmine, going 3-4 with a double and a pair of singles. Jacob Mulcahy added a single of his own.

Alex Phillips got the start on the hill for the Knights, giving up two earned in four and two-thirds. Brandon Pfaadt entered the game out of the bullpen and gave up two earned in two and one-third. Deylen Miley tossed one inning of scoreless relief.

Bellarmine will be back in action next Saturday and Sunday as they travel to Rolla, Missouri for a three-game series against the Miners of Missouri S&T.

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.