COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Bellarmine softball played its final non-conference game on the road Wednesday, and the Knights emerged victorious with an 8-3 win over Tennessee Tech.
The win marks Bellarmine's first true road victory of the season and its first ever against the Golden Eagles.
Bellarmine opened the scoring with an Olivia Bricker RBI double to the wall in the second inning. Tennessee Tech answered with three runs in the third to take a 3-1 advantage.
The Knights showed resilience, however, responding in the next half inning. Chloe Collins started the rally with a single to left field, Alyssa Brock followed with a double, and Emily O'Dee stepped up with a RBI single. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, a RBI groundout from Addison Kerr brought in Brock as the tying run.
Bellarmine's fifth inning push was ultimately the difference as the Knights totaled four runs. Bellarmine produced just one hit but racked up five walks. The big hit of the inning came from Bricker who sent a two-RBI single to left field, giving BU a 6-3 edge. A fielder's choice RBI from Caitlyn Watson later in the inning gave Bellarmine a 7-3 lead.
The Knights added an insurance run in the sixth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Megan Konermann that scored Anna Greenwell.
Bricker had the biggest day at the plate, going 2-3 with three RBI for the Knights. Emily O'Dee was also a very productive 2-3 with two RBI. Greenwell, Watson, Collins, and Brock all had a hit for Bellarmine as well.
As a team, the Knights drew eight walks and struck out just five times. Tennessee Tech managed just six hits and three walks on the day.
Outside of Tennessee Tech's three runs in the third, Claire Lehmkuhler and Carson Goatley combined to shut out the Golden Eagles in the other six frames. Lehmkuhler picked up her second win of the season, allowing only two earned runs over 4 innings of work. Goatley was sensational out of the bullpen, tossing three shutout innings and allowing only one hit.
Bellarmine returns home this weekend for an ASUN series with Queens. The Knights host the Royals in a doubleheader Saturday (1:00 p.m./3:00 p.m.) and single game on Sunday (12:00 p.m.) at Knights Field.
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