LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University baseball team began its final Atlantic Sun Conference series of the season with a 7-5 win over Queens on Thursday at Knights Field.

Senior right-hander Ryan Johnson (2-2) delivered a standout performance on the mound for Bellarmine (9-44, 8-20 ASUN), registering the win against Queens (13-40, 9-19) after tossing a career-high 6.0 innings and not allowing a single earned run while striking out four and yielding only two hits.

Ross Goldschlag notched his third save of the season. The senior right-hander entered with one out in the eighth and promptly ended the inning with two straight strikeouts. Queens threatened in the ninth and had two baserunners on before Goldschlag extinguished the comeback bid with a game-ending strikeout.

Bellarmine amassed 12 hits and led from the get-go. After tripling and scoring on a sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Brady Morse in the first, junior first baseman Casey Sorg followed in the second with a two-run single for a 3-0 lead.

Queens tied it at 3 by the fourth on three unearned runs, but senior center fielder Will Aubel immediately restored a Bellarmine advantage with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half. Aubel then bumped the lead to 5-3 in the sixth with an RBI single.

Bellarmine got further breathing room with a two-run seventh. Sophomore shortstop Luke Scales smacked an RBI double, and junior right fielder Jake Agarwal laced an RBI single for a 7-3 advantage.

A two-run homer by Queens' Dillon Lewis — his 20th of the season — in the eighth added intrigue before Goldschlag helped turn back the Royals.

Agarwal amassed three hits while Sorg, sophomore left fielder Joey Milto and junior second baseman Andres Castro all collected two, with Castro adding a pair of walks. Senior designated hitter Davis Crane drew three walks.

The second game is scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET) Friday.

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