GREENVILLE, S.C.-- The Bellarmine Knights softball team opened its season on Friday, splitting its first two games at the Paladin Invitational. BU fell 4-0 in the season opening morning game versus Tarleton State but responded with a 3-1 victory against the University of North Dakota in game two. Bellarmine also split its opening two games last season.
Game 1: Bellarmine vs. Tarleton State
Game one was a pitcher's duel between Bellarmine sophomore Carson Goatley and Tarleton's Tristan Bridges. Both pitchers tossed two hitless innings before Anna Greenwell tallied the first hit of the game in the top of third inning with a single up the middle. Greenwell advanced to second, but the Knights could not bring her home. BU also had opportunities in the top of the fourth following Grace Werner's leadoff single to center field. Werner led Bellarmine in stolen bases last year and stole second to move into scoring position with no outs. Bridges responded, however, inducing two pop-outs to the infield and a ground-out to first base to end the inning.
Tarleton carried that momentum to the home half of the fourth inning when they scored the first run of the game. Brady Rowland walked with one out and was replaced by Destiny Salinas on the bases. After Katy Schaefer flied out to center field, Georgia Capell doubled to left field to bring home Salinas and give Tarleton a 1-0 lead. The Texans kept it rolling in the fifth inning, scoring three unearned runs with the help of two Bellarmine errors.
Tarleton sustained its 4-0 lead and held Bellarmine hitless the final three innings to lock up the victory.
Goatley ended her first outing of 2022 allowing one earned run in six innings. She walked only two batters and also struck out a career-high nine batters. Bridges earned the win for Tarleton with a complete-game two-hitter.
Game 2: Bellarmine vs. North Dakota
Game two was also low-scoring, but the Knights came out on top for their first win of the season. Bellarmine batted first again, and their impact at the plate was felt immediately. Greenwell led off with a double to left-center field followed by an RBI single from Werner to plate BU's first run of the season. Hannah Webb laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Werner to second base, but the Knights were held to one in the first inning despite plenty of traffic on the bases.
Werner found her way on base again in the third inning, reaching on an error from UND's second baseman. She then stole second to set the table for another Bellarmine run. Two batters later, Sarah Ratterman sent an RBI single to left field, driving Werner home and giving Bellarmine a 2-0 advantage.
The Hawks quickly responded with a run in the bottom of the third. Izzy Haslett reached on error at first base and later scored an unearned run on a slap RBI single to the left side of the infield from Alexys Campos.
The closest UND would get to tying the score the rest of the game was in the sixth inning. The Hawks had a runner on third with two outs, but nine-hitter Priscilla Gresham lined out to first base to end the inning.
Bellarmine tacked on insurance in the top of the seventh with the help of three consecutive singles from the top of the order. Greenwell led off with her second base-knock but was thrown out at the plate by right-fielder Mariah Peters trying to advance on Werner's third hit of the afternoon. Webb had the clutch single to left-field, scoring Werner, and pushing BU in front 3-1.
Freshman Claire Lehmkuhler locked down the win in the seventh without much trouble, giving her a complete-game win in her first career outing in the circle. Lehmkuhler allowed sevent hits, but they were all singles. She also did not walk a single North Dakota batter and struck out five.
The Knights finished game two on Friday with 10 hits including three from Werner, and two from Greenwell and Webb. Ratterman, Megan Konermann, and Carley Ziegler each had a single.
"I'm pleased with the performance of our pitchers," Knights Head Coach Renee Hicks said. "Our team made the adjustments necessary for us to come back and win the second game."
Next, Bellarmine plays just once on Saturday as they take on North Dakota again at 11:30 a.m.
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