KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Stellar pitching allowed the Bellarmine University baseball team to threaten No. 20 Tennessee through the bulk of Tuesday's contest at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, but things took a turn for the worse in the seventh inning of an 8-3 loss to the Vols.

Bellarmine (2-6) trailed only 1-0 after 6.0 innings behind exceptional work on the mound. In the pitcher-by-committee approach against Tennessee (6-2), senior right-hander Deaton Oak, junior left-hander Aaron Ragat, junior right-hander Karl Ralamb, junior right-hander Chase Carver and sophomore right-hander Chase Chamberlain kept the Knights within one run of the Vols two-thirds of the way through the contest.

Bellarmine's upset bid was quelled in the bottom of the seventh when Tennessee posted seven runs. Only two of the runs were earned, as the Knights prolonged the inning with a pair of errors. The Vols went deep twice in the frame, the latter on a three-run homer where each of the runs was unearned.

Bellarmine broke up Tennessee's shutout bid in the ninth when freshman left fielder Cole Huett followed singles by junior pinch hitter Nick Gnardellis and junior center fielder Luca Hoerger with an RBI single. Sophomore shortstop Landon Akers then ripped a two-run single, but the Vols followed by turning a game-ending double play.

Bellarmine accumulated nine hits. Akers, Huett and senior first baseman AJ Swader tallied two apiece. The Knights had one tough inning, but the pitching overall was fantastic, as senior right-hander Cade Rusch added a scoreless eighth while striking out two.

Bellarmine will play a three-game series Friday-Sunday at Saint Louis. First pitches are set for 4 p.m. (ET), 3 p.m. and 2 p.m. (3 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. CT).

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