LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University baseball team scored a combined seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings and got a solid collective effort on a staff day in defeating Morehead State 10-6 Wednesday in its Knights Field debut.
Bellarmine (2-12) had opened the season with 13 games away from home — two neutral-site contests and 11 true road games — and took on four 2021 NCAA Tournament teams. The Knights got back in the win column against Morehead State (5-8) after finally taking the field at home.
Bellarmine trailed 5-3 after five innings, but the Knights grabbed the lead behind a three-run sixth. Bellarmine loaded the bases with no outs after senior center fielder
Jack Ockerman led off with a single and senior shortstop
Clayton Mehlbauer and senior left fielder
Matt Higgins both walked.
Two batters later, senior third baseman
Colin Bertsch pushed across a run after drawing a bases-loaded walk. Junior second baseman
Drew Buhr brought in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Junior designated hitter
Tommy Dilz then drove in the go-ahead run with a single.
Bellarmine created breathing room with a four-run seventh. Ockerman lined an RBI single, senior right fielder/first baseman
Jacob Mulcahy laced a two-run single and Bertsch blistered an RBI double off the center-field wall.
Higgins had gotten Bellarmine on the board in the first inning by smashing a solo homer to right center for his third round-tripper of the season. He added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and junior catcher
Gabe Bratetic ripped an RBI double in the fifth.
Ockerman went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Higgins went 1-for-2, walked twice, scored three runs and drove in two.
Bellarmine used nine pitchers for 1.0 inning each. Sophomore righthander
Cody Medley, senior lefthander
Nick Parrish, junior righthander
Devin Ecklar (who got the win), senior righthander
Matt Craven and freshman righthander
Casey Sorg each pitched a scoreless frame. The entire staff on the day combined for eight strikeouts, with Sorg fanning two.
Bellarmine will play a three-game series at No. 21 Purdue starting at 4 p.m. (ET) Thursday.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).