LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In regard to the regular season, the Bellarmine University baseball team certainly saved its best for last.

On Monday afternoon at Knights Field, Bellarmine completed a three-game sweep of 12th-ranked Illinois Springfield with an 8-4 victory in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Behind its fourth straight win, Bellarmine (29-19, 20-13 GLVC) locked down the seven-seed in the GLVC Tournament. Illinois Springfield (34-14-1, 21-12), which entered the series on a 14-game winning streak, finished in a three-way tie for fourth in the league with Southern Indiana and Drury.

Monday's victory in the regular-season finale was definitely a "team win" for Bellarmine. With the GLVC Tournament beginning Thursday and the need for rested arms at a premium, both the Knights and Prairie Stars used a pitcher-by-committee approach. Bellarmine utilized eight different pitchers, while UIS trotted out nine separate hurlers.

As one would expect in such a game, there wasn't much rhythm and neither of the GLVC's two most potent offenses ever really got locked in — Bellarmine recorded seven hits and UIS collected five, and there was a single extra-base hit in the game. In fact, there were more combined walks (17) than hits (12), with UIS issuing 11 free passes and Bellarmine six.

Sophomore right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (2-3) started for Bellarmine and set a promising tone with 2.0 shutout innings. Senior right-hander Kyle Beach, junior right-hander Jacob Nagel, senior left-hander Willie Poe, junior left-hander Shane Barringer and freshman right-hander Reece Davis each tossed 1.0 scoreless inning while junior right-hander Anthony Ethington chipped in 1.1 scoreless frames.

Bellarmine built a 4-0 lead after five innings, but Illinois Springfield tied it up with a four-run sixth. The Knights answered with three runs in the bottom half, regaining the lead on a two-run single by sophomore second baseman Justin Rouse and adding to it on an RBI double by sophomore center fielder Matt Higgins.

Higgins added an RBI single in the seventh to cap the scoring as Ethington, Barringer and Davis shut out the Prairie Stars over the final three innings.

Higgins and senior shortstop Derek Burns had two hits apiece. Senior designated hitter Alex Phillips stole two bases, including home in the fifth. Senior right fielder Zac Wiley singled and walked twice. Sophomore third baseman Jacob Mulcahy had a two-run single in the first.

The league is expected to release the official GLVC Tournament bracket today.

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