FLORENCE, Ala. — After the Bellarmine University baseball team rallied to take the lead in the eighth, North Alabama answered with four runs in the bottom half and staved off trouble in the last inning to preserve an 8-5 win over the Knights in ASUN action at Mike D. Lane Field.

Freshman first baseman Davis Crane went 4-for-4 for Bellarmine (10-24, 5-11 ASUN), which dropped its seventh straight game. North Alabama (5-30, 4-12), on the other hand, snapped a 13-game losing streak.

Bellarmine tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth when junior shortstop Clayton Mehlbauer swatted his sixth homer of the season, a game-tying three-run shot to the opposite field.

The Knights trailed 4-3 entering the eighth but scored two runs to grab the lead. With one out, Crane doubled and Mehlbauer walked. Bellarmine would then score on back-to-back squeeze bunts by senior second baseman Justin Rouse and sophomore pinch hitter Robert Sproul. The UNA pitcher slipped fielding the first and the Lions made a fielding error on the second, with Rouse credited with an RBI single and Sproul a sacrifice bunt and RBI.

Bellarmine's lead ended up being brief. North Alabama scored four runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth to regain the advantage at 8-5. The Knights had an excellent opportunity to rally in the ninth after UNA walked the bases loaded with one out, but the Lions escaped trouble and ended the game with a 5-2-3 double play.

Crane had his second straight big outing and is 7-for-8 over his last two games. Senior third baseman Josh Finerty collected three hits as Bellarmine posted 12 total but stranded 10 baserunners. Senior right-hander Deylen Miley overcame a three-run first to pitch effectively, allowing four runs on four hits with seven strikeouts against one walk in 7.0 innings.

Bellarmine and UNA will meet in the second of the three-game series at 3 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

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