LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The long ball in tandem with a strong combined pitching performance propelled the Bellarmine University baseball team to an Atlantic Sun Conference series-clinching 10-3 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Friday at Knights Field.

Bellarmine (16-38, 10-19 ASUN) won its third straight game beginning with a 10-9 triumph at No. 21 Louisville before preceding Friday's victory with an 8-6 win over the Colonels (11-43, 8-21) in the series opener.

Four different players launched home runs for Bellarmine while senior right-hander Mike Sokol and junior right-hander Oliver Ward teamed up to keep EKU's bats at bay. Sokol earned the win after surrendering three runs in 5.0 innings. Ward collected his second save after closing the game with 4.0 shutout frames.

Power hitting fueled the offense. It began in the first inning, when Casey Sorg crushed a three-run homer. In doing so, Sorg became the first Knight in the Division-I era to post multiple double-digit HR seasons. He smacked 14 long balls last year and amassed his 10th round-tripper this season.

Junior catcher Charlie Rife roped a line-drive, solo homer in the second while going deep for the fifth time this season. Junior Joey Milto then creamed a solo shot in the fourth — his fifth HR of the year — before senior Seth Sweet-Chick hammered a two-run blast in the seventh, marking his seventh round-tripper of the campaign.

Rife added a sacrifice fly, and Sweet-Chick also doubled. Freshman Christian Kiper had an RBI single and a double.

The series finale is set for 2 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

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