LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Thanks to a tremendous outing from Claire Lehmkuhler, stellar defense and a clutch hit from Chloe Collins, the Bellarmine University softball team took game three 2-1 in walk-off fashion over Lipscomb on Sunday afternoon at Knights Field.
 
With the win, the Knights improve to 13-21 on the season, 5-7 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. On the losing side, the Bisons drop to 15-23 overall, 4-8 in the ASUN.
 
"I was really proud of how we stayed in the game today," Bellarmine head coach Caitlyn de la Haba said of her team's effort. "After two tough losses yesterday, it was really valuable and important for us moving forward to come out and get a win in the series."
 
In a pitcher's duel from start to finish, junior Claire Lehmkuhler was formidable from the very first pitch. After getting two quick outs in the top of the first, Lehmkuhler navigated her way through an early hurdle, getting the Knights out of the inning with no damage as Lipscomb rallied for two hits and a walk to load the bases.
 
Bellarmine tried to get on the board first with aggressive base running in the home half of the inning. Junior Chloe Collins kept the frame alive with a two-out single before fellow junior Megan Konermann ripped a double to right center. Collins tried to score from first on the play but was cut down at the plate for the third out of the inning.
 
The Knights threatened again in the second. Junior Serenity Shemwell kicked the inning off with a single. After two quick outs, sophomore Madison Davis kept things going with a single of her own, putting runners on the corner. Junior Kayla Bauer followed with a walk that chased Lipscomb's starter from the game, but the threat would come to pass with no runs before the third out was made.
 
For the third straight inning, Bellarmine got a runner in scoring position. Junior Harlie Bickett led off the inning with a double to left center field and eventually moved to third but was never able to come home as the Knights came up short yet again.


Lipscomb finally broke through the stalemate in the top of the fourth. The Bisons got a runner on thanks to a leadoff single. With a runner on first and third and two outs, Lipscomb deployed a designed play to get the runner on first in a rundown to successfully score the runner from third before the final out was made to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Bellarmine answered two innings later in the bottom of the sixth. Collins once again got things started with a single up the middle. Konermann stepped to the plate and followed with a double off the wall in left before Shemwell drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. In the next at-bat, freshman Nicole Waters delivered with an RBI single to center field to tie the game at 1-1. The Knights were once again aggressive on the base paths and tried to score a second run on the play but were ultimately unsuccessful. With two outs in the inning, Davis stepped to the plate and drove a hard line drive into right field but a great play from the Lipscomb defense robbed Davis of a hit and kept the score even at 1-1.
Lehmkuhler continued to battle in the circle, working around a two-out walk with a crucial strikeout, her first and only of the game, for the third out of the inning to keep the game tied.
 
Things did not look great for Bellarmine in the bottom of the seventh after two quick outs to start the frame. Bickett kept the inning alive with a single through the right side before Collins stepped up and delivered an RBI double off the right field wall to secure a 2-1 win in walk-off fashion for the Knights and avoid the series sweep.
 
Lehmkuhler earned the win for her 7.0 inning, complete game effort, marking her sixth complete game of the season and ninth win of the year.
 
"Claire pitched another phenomenal game and definitely deserved that," de la Haba said of her starter. "Overall, we played really great defense, but I think Claire threw a really great game and pushed us to a win."
 
At the plate, Collins led the for the Knights with a 3-for-4 effort. Konermann and Bicket added two hits each to help lead BU to the victory.
 
Up next, Bellarmine hits the road for another ASUN series, heading to Kennesaw, Ga. for three games against Kennesaw State. The three-game series will begin on Friday, April 12 and conclude on Sunday, April 14.
 
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