MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – The Bellarmine University softball team split day of The Spring Games, taking game one 7-3 over Cornell University before dropping game two to Brown University 11-0.
 
The Knights (4-5) collected their fourth win, third straight, of the season in game one, matching the team's win total from the 2023 season in just their eighth game of the 2024 campaign. The three-game win streak tied the team's longest win streak in the Division I era, set in 2022 when Bellarmine won two games on February 13 before winning a third straight a week later, on February 18.
 
Game One
 
Once again, Bellarmine got right to work on offense, putting up the game's first run in the opening frame. With one out in the inning, freshman Brooke Shewmaker drew a walk, followed by back-to-back singles off the bats of juniors Megan Konermann and Serenity Shemwell, brining Shewmaker around to score and put the Knights up 1-0.
 
Cornell answered two innings later, plating a run in the bottom of the third to tie things at 1-1.
 
In the fourth, the Knights broke the game open, unloading for six runs. Shemwell led off the frame with a walk, followed immediately by a single from junior Chloe Collins. With one out, grad student Olivia Bricker sent a fly ball deep enough to center field for a sacrifice fly, scoring junior Kayla Bauer, who pinch ran for Shemwell, to put Bellarmine back on top 2-1. Freshman Kendall Gaddie stepped to the plate next, knocking a single to right field before sophomore Madison Davis lined a double into left field to score Gaddie. Davis then came around to score in the following at-bat, taking advantage of a Cornell error. With two outs and the bases loaded, Bauer came back up, this time to hit, driving an RBI single to center field, bringing in two more runs to cap off the six run fourth for Bellarmine, pushing the Knights to a 7-1 lead.
 
The Big Red scratched across a single run in the fifth and seventh innings but were unable to come back as the Knights secured their third straight win, 7-3.
 
In the circle, junior Claire Lehmkuhler earned her third win of the season, second of the weekend, with a 5.0 inning outing, striking out seven while allowing just two runs on five hits. Freshman Selena Zuniga turned in two solid innings of relief, surrendering a single run on two hits.
 
"We put together some really good at-bats today," said Bellarmine head coach Caitlyn de la Haba. "Claire and Selena put together another great game for us in the circle, and that helped get us another win."
 
Game Two
 
Both teams were quiet early on as pitching dominated the first two innings of the contest.
 
Brown finally broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third, scratching across two runs on a lone hit, taking advantage of a Bellarmine error.
 
The Bears continued to pile on, adding five three more runs in the fifth, courtesy of two hits and another three Bellarmine errors before breaking the game open in the seventh with six more runs to take an 11-0 lead.
 
Bellarmine was ultimately unable to put up any offense, recording just one hit in the game. Errors doomed the Knights' effort as the team combined for seven errors, resulting in just two of Brown's runs counting as earned with nine runs coming across the plate unearned.
 
The Knights will close out the busy weekend tomorrow, Sunday February 25 with a single game, taking on Butler University. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
 
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