CARBONDALE, Ill. - Bellarmine baseball scored 10 straight runs after falling behind 7-0, but were done in by seven allowed runs in the bottom of the eighth in a 14-10 road loss to the Southern Illinois Salukis.  With the result, the Knights go 0-3 in the weekend series and drop to 2-12 on the season.

SIU did damage early and often, taking a 3-0 lead on four hits after the first inning and scoring two runs apiece in the third and fourth innings.  The Knights had early opportunities to put runs on the board, hitting a double and advancing a runner to third in both the third and fifth innings, but were unable to cash in.

Things began to shift in the seventh inning, when Eli Watson hit a leadoff single, Luke Scales followed up with a single to right center, and Jacob Rowold sent Nick Gnardellis, pinch running for Watson, home with an RBI single to get the Knights on the board.  After two straight walks sent Scales across home plate for another run, Seth Sweet-Chick hit an RBI double down the right field line with the bases loaded, sending all three runners home to pull Bellarmine to within 7-5.

After Mike Sokol delivered three quick outs in the bottom of the seventh in relief of starter Zach Horwith, the Knights got the bats going again in the eighth, as Rowold sent another run across home plate with an RBI double down the right field line and he and Scales subsequently scored after Connor Pawlowski reached on an SIU throwing error to give the Knights their first lead of the game.  Bellarmine was able to add two more runs in the inning as Zac Jones sent Pawlowski home with a single up the middle and Sweet-Chick scored on a sac fly from Casey Sorg.

The lead would not last however, as SIU went back on top on a grand slam home run in the bottom of the eighth and scored three more runs as the result of a Knights error.  Bellarmine was unable to make another rally, striking out three times in the ninth.

Overall, Rowold and Sweet-Chick each had two hits, with Sweet-Chick hitting two doubles and Rowold hitting one double and a single.  Jones, Gnardellis, Watson, and Scales each hit a single while Christian Kiper hit a double in the fifth inning.  Sweet-Chick had three RBI and Rowold and Pawlowski were each credited with two and Sorg had one.  As a team, the Knights had nine hits.

SIU as a team had 16 hits to go along with four errors.  The Knights left six on base and the Salukis left seven.

Up next, the Knights will host a pair of midweek games against two opponents from the Ohio Valley Conference.  Bellarmine will host the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Tuesday and the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana on Wednesday.  First pitch for both contests is scheduled for 2 PM ET.

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