RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team heads to Louisville this weekend for an in-state ASUN Conference series against Bellarmine.
 
The series opens with a doubleheader Saturday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. The finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader will stream on ESPN+, with live stats available throughout the weekend.
 
EKU enters the weekend after a 6-1 midweek loss to Marshall. The Colonels went 1-1-1 in their last conference series against Central Arkansas.
 
Currently third in the ASUN Gold Division, EKU has an opportunity to move into second place with a series win over Bellarmine.
 
The two teams met earlier this season at Gertrude Hood Field, where the Colonels claimed the series, 2-1.
 
In the opener, EKU earned a 2-1 victory in a defensive battle. The game was tied 1-1 in the fourth inning when Jada McLeod delivered a double to right field, later advancing to third and scoring the game-winning run.
 
The Colonels followed with an 8-0, six-inning run-rule win in game two. Victoria Byrum tossed a six-inning no-hitter, striking out 10 batters to tie her career high while throwing 93 pitches. At the plate, EKU scored eight runs, with six different players recording an RBI. The Colonels also totaled five doubles and a triple.
 
Bellarmine avoided the sweep with a 2-1 win in the finale. The Knights scored two runs on three hits, while EKU managed five hits and pushed across one run in the bottom of the seventh.
 
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
 
Bellarmine (11-33, 4-14 ASUN) is coming off a 2-1 series loss to Lipscomb. Tia Ice leads the Knights offensively. This season, she has recorded 36 hits, 11 runs, eight doubles and 18 RBIs.
 
In the circle, Lele Bennett has been Bellarmine's top arm, posting a 5.56 ERA in 119.2 innings with 65 strikeouts.
 
The Knights have shown improvement this season under first-year head coach Whitney Arion, who previously served as an assistant coach and the program's director of player development/video analysis at EKU.
 
The Colonels lead the all-time series, 17-2, and have won nine of the last 10 meetings.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
EKU was limited to four hits in its 6-1 loss to Marshall. Lilly Davis provided the Colonels' lone run with a home run to deep left field that gave EKU an early lead. Marshall answered with six unanswered runs and held the Colonels scoreless the rest of the way.
 
The Colonels will look to close the regular season with two conference series wins before turning their attention to the ASUN Tournament.