MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Bellarmine softball caps off its five-game weekend with a 5-1 win over Butler University (7-7) on Sunday morning at The Spring Games.
 
The Knights (5-5) finished the weekend with a 4-1 record, a complete turnaround from their opening weekend 1-4 record at the CSU Kickoff Tournament two weeks ago. With the win, Bellarmine has now exceeded its win total from last season just 10 games into the season.

"We played fantastic defense today and got a great pitching effort," said Bellarmine head coach Caitlyn de la Haba. "We executed early on offense and got a comfortable lead that allowed us to play free and finish strong."

After a quick first inning, Bellarmine got to work in the second, exploding for all five of its runs. Junior Chloe Collins led the effort off with a single, followed by grad student Olivia Bricker and freshman Nicole waters who loaded the bases singles of their own. In the next at-bat, senior Caitlyn Watson brought Collins home, grounding into a fielder's choice, to take a 1-0 lead. The offense kept rolling as sophomore Madison Davis stepped to the plate next, drawing a walk to score another run. With two outs in the frame, junior Harlie Bickett brought around the third Bellarmine run before the Knights took advantage of a Butler defensive error to score two more runs, extending the lead to 5-0.
 
Junior Claire Lehmkuhler was stellar in her outing, tossing 5.0 shutout innings, surrendering just two hits, striking out one and walking one to earn her fourth win of the season.
 
Butler attempted a rally in the bottom of the seventh but was only able to scratch across a single run as senior Carson Goatley settled in to secure the 5-1 win for the Knights, earning her first save of the season.
 
Bellarmine continues its season opening road trip this week, heading to Huntington, W. Va. on Wednesday, February 28 for a midweek matchup with Marshall University. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET.
 
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