WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Bellarmine University baseball team received superb relief pitching from Drew Buhr and Zac Common, but a seven-run first inning by Purdue was too much to overcome as the Knights fell 8-4 to the No. 21 Boilermakers on Thursday at Alexander Field.

A junior righthander, Buhr struck out five while allowing one run on four hits in 5.2 innings pitched for Bellarmine (2-13). Common, a sophomore righthander, fanned three while giving up one hit in 2.1 scoreless innings against undefeated Purdue (13-0).

Senior shortstop Clayton Mehlbauer doubled twice for Bellarmine, including to lead off the game. He scored on a single by senior left fielder Matt Higgins, who also doubled in the contest.

Senior utility Jacob Mulcahy had an RBI single in Bellarmine's two-run third. Junior catcher Gage Bratetic collected two hits and drove in the Knights' final run with an RBI double in the eighth.

Purdue rode its first inning to the win. The Boilermakers scored seven runs on four hits, two walks and two hit batsmen. They added one more in the second, but Buhr and Common shut them out from there.

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