ROMEOVILLE, Ill.—The Bellarmine softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Lewis on Sunday afternoon as the host Flyers outbattled the Knights for a spot in the Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason tournament.
Lewis posted an 8-4 comeback victory in game one before overcoming an early 1-0 deficit in the second game to win 4-2.
The teams were essentially playing for the eighth and final spot in the GLVC tourney with both Lewis and Bellarmine entering the doubleheader with identical 10-14 records in league play. William Jewell shared that mark, but the Lewis sweep eliminated the Cardinals after they dropped their first game to Illinois Springfield today.
Bellarmine closes the season with a 22-27 overall mark as the Knights dealt with multiple injuries up and down the roster. Particularly hard hit was the pitching staff, including junior
Sabrina Fussenegger being sidelined for the final four games.
In spite of the adversity, the Knights had battled into postseason contention, and today started out on a hopeful note with BU opening the day by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning of game one.
Hannah Webb popped a solo homer over the fence in right center and
Allison Woosley delivered a sacrifice fly for the scores.
Although the Flyers got one back in the bottom of the inning, the Knights re-established a two-run lead on an RBI single by
Grace Werner in the top of the second.
However, a pair of Lewis homers led to a 4-run fourth inning as the Flyers grabbed a 5-3 advantage. The host team then tacked on two more in the fifth on yet another homer and an RBI single.
The Knights scratched out another run in the sixth when
Joelle Zielinski drew a walk to lead off the frame and singles by Webb and
Rachel Ayer moved her around to score.
Again, the Flyers answered in the home half of the inning to extend the lead back to five at 8-3.
In the top of the seventh, Bellarmine mounted a comeback bid when they loaded the bases on singles by
Natalie Magnus and Zielinski with Werner reaching on an error. Webb then followed with a single to trim the margin to 8-4. However, the rally ended there as the Knights left the bases loaded, and Lewis hung on for the victory.
Webb was the offensive leader in game one, going 3-for-4 with two RBI while Magnus and
Samantha Smith collected two hits apiece.
Game two also saw the Knights take an early lead when Smith, Woosley and
Sydney Oskin all reached to load the bases in the top of the second, and Zielinski's ground out drove in a run. However, Bellarmine left Woosley and Oskin stranded on second and third with two consecutive ground outs.
Oskin, meanwhile, was having a good game in the circle, keeping the Flyers hitless through the first three innings. However, the "no-no" was broken up with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, and hit number two by Lewis was a big one as catcher Elexis Swartzentruber swatted a two-out, two-run homer to left center.
The Knights came back to tie the game at two runs apiece in the fifth when Ayer doubled home Werner, who had singled. The game wasn't tied for long, however. Lewis came right back to score two runs in the bottom of the fifth, utilizing a Bellarmine error, a single, and a pair of stolen bases to get runners to second and third where Olivia Magaldi's double easily drove them in for a 4-2 lead.
From there, the Lewis pitching staff retired the Knights in order in both the sixth and seventh innings to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Bellarmine managed just six hits in game two with Werner and Oskin recording two apiece. Oskin also posted solid pitching numbers, going all six innings and surrendering just four hits and issuing one walk.
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GAME 1 HTM BOX SCORE
GAME 2 HTM BOX SCORE
