LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Freshman right-hander Sam Matherly and senior left-hander Steven Thom shut down North Florida for much of the way, and the Bellarmine University baseball team answered when the Ospreys rallied in a 12-6 victory Thursday in Atlantic Sun Conference action at Knights Field.

Matherly tossed 4.0 shutout innings and Thom followed with 3.0 scoreless for Bellarmine (2-23, 1-6 ASUN), which built an 8-0 lead over North Florida (14-10, 4-3) before the Ospreys scored six runs in the eighth inning. The Knights responded with four runs in the bottom half to restore a comfortable advantage, and senior right-hander Nolan Pender sealed the series-opening win with a scoreless ninth.

Matherly's outing began with 2.0 perfect innings, and the offense got to work. In the first, Casey Sorg followed a lead-off single by senior center fielder Will Aubel by cranking a two-run homer off the scoreboard in right. It was Sorg's seventh round-tripper of the season, and fourth in his last two ASUN games after he launched three in the series finale against Jacksonville.

North Florida had five errors in the contest. Bellarmine took advantage of one of those to score two runs in the fifth. The Knights added a pair more in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk by junior second baseman Andres Castro and a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Matt Flaherty — his second sac fly of the contest — to boost the lead to 8-0.

North Florida came alive in the eighth, plating six runs on four hits in the frame to rally within two runs.

Sophomore shortstop Luke Scales walloped a double leading off the bottom of the eighth. Castro drove him in while reaching on an error. Junior pinch hitter Jake Agarwal plated another run on a fielder's choice, with a second coming home on a throwing error. Sorg capped the four-run inning with an RBI single.

Aubel was 5-for-6, with the five hits tying a Division I-era program record (Matt Higgins vs. North Alabama, 2022). Scales also tied a D1-era high with five runs scored (Reed Blaszczyk, 2023; Sorg, 2024). Sorg was 3-for-6 with three RBI, and Scales and sophomore third baseman Brady Morse registered two hits apiece.

Matherly allowed only two hits in his 4.0 innings of work. Thom struck out a career-high six in his 3.0 frames.

First pitch in the second game of the series is at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Friday.

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