LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bellarmine baseball raced out to a six-run lead Tuesday night against University of Louisville before falling 14-7 at Jim Patterson Stadium in the ninth meeting between the programs during the Knights' Division I era. Bellarmine moved to 19-31 on the season with the result, while Louisville improved to 28-25.
The matchup marked the first meeting between the schools since Bellarmine's 10-9 victory over Louisville last season, the Knights' first win over a ranked opponent in Division One.
Bellarmine's offense came out firing in the opening inning. After Luke Scales reached and AJ Swader moved into scoring position, Jake Bell lined an RBI double to left field to plate the game's first run. Eli Watson followed with a two-run single up the middle later in the frame, scoring Bell and Swader to give the Knights an early 3-0 advantage.
The Knights added on again in the second inning after Connor Pawlowski reached and Cole Huett and Luca Hoerger helped load the bases. Landon Akers brought home a run on a fielder's choice before Scales lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Swader capped the inning with another RBI on a fielder's choice, extending Bellarmine's lead to 6-0 through two innings.
Louisville answered with a two-run homer in the second inning before taking control in the third. The Cardinals scored seven runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run homer, a pair of runs scoring on wild pitches and RBI singles from Ben Slanker, Zion Rose and Griffin Crain to turn the six-run deficit into a 9-6 lead.
Bellarmine continued to battle offensively throughout the night. Swader finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, Watson drove in two runs and Bell added an RBI double. Huett collected a double while Hoerger drove in Bryce Anderson in the eighth inning after Anderson entered as a pinch runner following a Sawyer Pace single.
Evan Hart provided length out of the bullpen for the Knights, striking out two across 3.2 innings of relief work.
The Knights return home for a three-game series against Eastern Kentucky University beginning Thursday at 3 PM ET at Knights Field.
