LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights softball team is back on the road this weekend for another non-conference tournament to start the season.  BU travels to Western Kentucky to play in the Hilltopper Classic – a five-game tournament over the course of three days in Bowling Green.
 
Bellarmine begins on Friday with a 1:30 p.m. matchup against Southeast Missouri State (SEMO).  Like the Knights, SEMO is 3-2 this season after competing in the Southeastern Louisiana Tournament in Hammond, La.   Two wins for the Redhawks came by run-rule in five innings, and most recently they topped Nicholls 5-2 on Sunday.  SEMO is led by Aubrie Shore who is batting .500 with a home run, double, and triple through five games.
 
Later on Friday evening, the Knights take on host Western Kentucky at 5:30 p.m.  WKU is off to an impressive 3-1 start this season after playing well at the Aggie Classic in College Station, Texas.  The Hilltoppers beat UT Arlington, Texas A&M Corpus Christi (twice), and lost 2-0 to host Texas A&M.  Taylor Davis has the best batting average for WKU at .600 thus far, while Shelby Nunn has started three of WKU's games and posted a 1.85 ERA.
 
BU wraps up pool play on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. against Central Michigan.  The Chippewas have yet to play this season after going 20-28 (11-9 in the Mid-American Conference) last year.  CMU was scheduled to play at Bellarmine on Feb. 20 and 21 last year, but both games were cancelled due to winter weather.
 
Depending on how each team finishes through three games of pool play, teams will be seeded and play again Saturday afternoon:
 

• 3:00 p.m.: 1-Seed vs. 4-Seed
• 5:30 p.m.: 2-Seed vs. 3-Seed

 
The winners of each game will face off on the tournament championship at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, while the losers will play in a consolation game at 11:00 a.m.  Each team is guaranteed a total of five games over the course of the weekend.
 
Bellarmine is coming off an exciting close to the Paladin Invitational in Clinton, S.C., winning its final two games this past Sunday.  The Knights defeated Maryland Eastern-Shore 3-2 on a walk-off Grace Werner steal of home and followed with their largest ever DI victory, defeating Furman 9-0 in five innings.  Werner, Anna Greenwell, and Hannah Webb lead Bellarmine with six hits this season, while Alexis Hargrove has a team-high four RBIs and one home run. 
 
Carson Goatley tops the Knights with 17 strikeouts in the circle and has appeared three times already.  Freshman Claire Lehmkuhler is 2-0 through two career appearances and has relinquished just two earned runs in 14 innings.
 
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