GREENVILLE, S.C. — Bellarmine opened its weekend at the Furman Invitational on Friday, and the Knights dropped games against Binghamton and Sacred Heart.
Bellarmine (0-6) fell to Binghamton (3-4) by a final score of 3-0 in game one and lost to Sacred Heart (1-0) by a final of 9-4 in the afternoon game.
Game One
The Bearcats limited Bellarmine to two hits and scraped together just enough offense to knock out the Knights.
Alayna Harbaugh led off the game with a single, stole second base, and eventually came around to score on Sarah Rende's RBI single in the first inning.
Rende added another RBI in the third with a double that plated Brianna Santos, giving Binghamton a 2-0 advantage.
In the sixth, the Bearcats put together a two-out rally and were helped by a passed ball to pick up their third run. Hailey Elhers singled to right field bringing in Alex Musial as an unearned run.
Anna Greenwell had Bellarmine's first hit of the game in the fourth inning with a base knock to left field. The Knights threatened in the sixth, bringing
Anna Greenwell to the plate as the tying run.
Madison Davis walked to start the inning, followed by an
Olivia Bricker bunt single on the left side of the infield. Greenwell popped up to shortstop, however, and Bricker was doubled up at first to give Binghamton a quick two outs. A groundout ended the inning, and the Knights were unable to reach base in the seventh.
Elli Jensen made her first career start for Bellarmine and allowed two runs through three innings.
Claire Lehmkuhler closed out the game in the circle, allowing just one unearned run and striking out five batters. in four innings.
Brianna Roberts earned the complete game win for Binghamton, striking out eight in the process.
Game Two
The bats found some life in game two against Sacred Heart, as Bellarmine took a 2-0 advantage after the first inning.
Bellarmine's first three batters reached – Bricker drew a walk and stole second prior to a Greenwell single down the left field line. Greenwell advanced to second on a passed ball, and
Chloe Collins then singled through the left side to plate Bricker. Two batters later, Bellarmine used a double steal to bring home another run. Collins stole second, while Greenwell stole home to put the Knights up 2-0.
Sacred Heart answered immediately, however, plating four runs in the home half of the first. The Pioneers drew three walks and put together a pair of hits to take a 4-2 lead.
Sacred Heart added insurance with five unearned runs in the fifth inning to push ahead 9-2. The Pioneers racked up four hits, and Bellarmine committed four errors during the inning to aid the offense.
Bellarmine's final two runs came in the seventh.
Erica Endris picked up her first career hit with a double down the right field line and scored on
Alexis Hargrove's RBI double to left field. Bricker later drove Hargrove in with a RBI single up the middle.
Carson Goatley pitched the first four innings for Bellarmine, while Lehmkuhler tossed the final two.
Sam Kowalski went all seven innings for Sacred Heart and earned the victory.
Bellarmine faces Sacred Heart at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning followed by a 2:00 p.m. matchup with Towson.
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