LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bellarmine softball returned home with an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader, falling 8-1 and 13-3 to Central Arkansas on Saturday at Knights Field.

The Knights (10-29, 3-11 ASUN) opened the day in strong fashion with sophomore Lele Bennett on the rubber in game one.

Bennett led the way keeping UCA off the board while working through jams with four early strikeouts.

Central Arkansas (27-16, 9-4 ASUN) struck first in the fourth scoring a run on groundout to take a 1-0 lead.

Bellarmine evened the score in home half off the inning thanks to an RBI single off the bat of junior Nicole Waters.

The Bears retook the lead in the fifth with a single run before putting up six runs in the sixth to jump ahead 8-1 before closing out the game for the win.

In the second game, UCA carried its momentum, putting up four runs in the opening frame, taking advantage of six walks with a single hit.

Bellarmine answered in the bottom of the first. Freshman Tia Ice brought home the first run with a hard-hit single through the right side of the infield. Three batters later, Bennett brought home a second run with a single through the left side of the infield to cut the lead in half at 4-2.

Central Arkansas continued to take advantage of walks, scoring nine more runs across the next four innings, racking up 17 total free passes while turning in six hits to open a 13-3 lead, taking game two by mercy rule in the fifth.

Up next, Bellarmine and Central Arkansas will close out the series on Sunday, April 12 with a single game at 12 p.m. at Knights Field.

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