Williamsburg, KY – The Patriot Baseball team returned to action on Friday after a few days of rain has altered the schedule. Cumberlands would host the Bearcats of Brescia for a doubleheader where UC's pitching staff would put on a pair of fantastic performances, shutting out Brescia with a 5-0 win in game one and a 3-0 win in game two. The pair of wins moves UC to 6-3 overall on the year.
 
Game one would see the ball handed to Zach Hurley, who looks as if he is already in mid-season form. He would consistently continue to mow down the competition, allowing only five hits in the game, with all of those coming in the final three innings. Hurley would also allow no walks while striking out six in his complete game win. UC would get their all of their runs in a pair of innings in the middle of the game.
 
After three scoreless innings, the Patriots would begin the fourth with singles from J.C. Santos and Daniel Diaz. With two on and no one out, Andrew Ramos would deliver a RBI single to bring in the first run of the game. With runners on the corners, Alex Dominguez would ground into a 4-3 double play, but Diaz would come around to score, giving the Patriots a 2-0 lead entering the fifth.
 
After a leadoff walk to Raudy Martinez in the fifth, Bryan Benz would single up the middle, putting runners on the corners with no one down. After advancing to second to put both runners in scoring position, Diaz would double down the left field line, driving in both to make it a 4-0 game. A wild pitch later in the inning would bring in Diaz, giving UC their fifth and final run of the game.
 
Game two was another pitching gem by the Patriots as Josh Avila would take to the mound. Avila would go 6.1 innings of phenomenal pitching, allowing just five hits and no walks while sitting a dozen down on strikes. Manny Castellano would come in for the final two outs of the game, striking out both batter on three straight pitches to earn his first save for the Patriots.
 
Offensively, the scoring would begin in the second innings. After a leadoff double by Benz and walk to Santos, Robbie Stroub would single through the right side, scoring two to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead. That would carry until the fifth inning as Roberto Prado would lead off the inning with a single. Orley Arellano would follow with a walk while Martinez would reach on a E9 to load the bases with no one out. With one down, Santos would hit into a fielder's choice that would score Prado, pushing UC's lead to 3-0 which would hold for the final.
 
The Patriots return to action on Sunday, February 25^th at Lincoln Memorial University as they will take on the University of St. Francis (IN) for a doubleheader in Harrogate, Tennessee. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm.  
 
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