MURFREESBORO, Tn. – Bellarmine softball snapped its 16-game losing streak while notching its first ASUN win of the year, splitting a doubleheader with Austin Peay to close the weekend at Middle Tennessee State's Blue Raider Field.
The Knights took game one 4-3 before falling 8-0 in five innings in game two, moving Bellarmine to 5-24 on the year and 1-11 in Atlantic Sun Conference play.
Austin Peay got on the board first in game one, scoring a run on a leadoff home run to take a 1-0 lead.
From there, both pitchers settled in to turn in two scoreless innings each.
Bellarmine got to work in the top of the fourth, putting up an answer to the Governors first run. Senior
Megan Konermann led the inning off with a walk followed later by a one out hit by pitch for freshman
Peyton Arnold. With two away, senior
Kayla Bauer stepped to the plate and ripped a ball to center field that got to the wall, allowing both Konermann and Arnold to score as Bauer made her way to third. In the next at-bat, senior
Harlie Bickett lined a single into shallow center field to score Bauer and put the Knights on top 3-1.
In the fifth inning, Konermann dealt the final blow, launching a home run to deep left field to put Bellarmine up 4-1. The homer was her team leading third of the year.
The Governors battled in the bottom of the frame, scratching across two runs to get back within one, still down 4-3.
Grad student
Kelsie Houchens would on to toss a scoreless sixth and seventh inning to turn in her fifth complete game effort of the season. Houchens allowed just one earned run, three total, on six hits with one strikeout and three walks to get her second win of the year.
Bellarmine started game two with a great chance to get on the board first, loading the bases with one out but the Knights were unable to bring a run home as the threat came to pass.
Austin Peay broke the stalemate in the home half of the first however, thanks to a two-run homer to jump ahead 2-0.
The Governors added three more runs in each of the third and fourth innings to extend their lead to 8-0 before securing the mercy rule win in the top of the fifth.
Up next, Bellarmine will return home for its next ASUN series, hosting the Central Arkansas Bears at Knights Field April 12-13.
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