FIRST PITCH
Score: Bellarmine 7 | Queens 5
Records: Bellarmine (9-44 overall, 8-20 ASUN) | Queens (13-40 overall, 9-19 ASUN)
Location: Louisville, Ky. (Knights Field)
 
The Short Story: The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team were unable to overcome 11 walks as the Royals dropped game one of the weekend series at Bellarmine on Thursday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Bellarmine jumped on the board with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Following a one-out triple from Casey Sorg, the Knights plated the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly.
-The Knights extended their lead in the second inning to 3-0 after capitalizing on three walks. With the bases loaded and two outs, Casey Sorg singled through the right side to plate a pair and give the Knights an early 3-0 advantage.
-Queens answered in the top of the third inning with two out magic. Jake Barbour got the rally started with a double to right field before Dillon Lewis reached on a throwing error by the Knights shortstop. With runners on the corners, a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt advanced both runners up 90 feet and plated Barbour. Matthew Corlew would hit a chopper back to the pitcher, and an errant throw into right field brought home Lewis for the second run of the frame.
-The Royals would tie it up in the top of the fourth inning capitalizing on another Bellarmine error. Tyler Cotto led off the inning with a single up the middle. The senior advanced to second on a fly out by Zach Weston and moved up to third on an errant throw on that play. Will Budnick would capitalize on the situation and deliver a sacrifice fly to tie it up 3-3.
-Bellarmine struck back and regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Jake Agarwal led off the inning with a single to third base and advanced to second on a throwing error. A walk followed before the Knights successfully converted a double steal to put runners in scoring position. A walk loaded the bases before Will Aubel sent a sac fly to center field to plate a run and give the Knights a 4-3 lead. Queens reliver Joseph Rodriguez settled in and worked a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam.
-The Knights extended their lead in the sixth inning with another run. Following a leadoff walk, the Knights laced back-to-back singles to load the bases with no outs. The Royals brought their infield in and Joseph Rodriguez got a ground ball which allowed the Royals to cut down a run at the plate. However, Will Aubel followed with an RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 5-3.
-Bellarmine extended their lead to the largest of the game in the seventh plating two more runs. The Knights capitalized on four hits to grab a 7-3 advantage.
-After being held scoreless for three straight frames, the Royals plated a pair in the top of the eighth inning to cut into the deficit. Evan Zapp led off with a double to right center before Dillon Lewis belted a two-run shot to left field to cut the deficit to 7-5.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Dillon Lewis became the second player in Division 1 baseball this season to reach the 20-20 club. Lewis turned in a 1-for-4 game, including his 20^th home run as he joins North Carolina's Vance Honeycutt as the only two players to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases.
-Freshman Jake Barbour roped his seventh double of the year as a part of a 1-for-4 afternoon.
-Fellow rookie Evan Zapp smashed his fifth double of the season.
-Tyler Cotto and Will Budnick rounded out the offense with a hit each. Budnick added an RBI as the junior has recorded a hit in four straight games.
-Right-hander Joseph Rodriguez made his 28^th appearance of the season and tossed 3.0 innings out of the bullpen. The graduate student allowed one run on four hits.

NEXT UP
Queens and Bellarmine will return to action tomorrow, May 17^th for game two of the weekend series. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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