Williamsburg, KY – The UC softball team got an abundance of hits in a game one, but costly errors in game two led to a split with Michigan-Dearborn Friday afternoon at the UC Softball Complex. The Patriots took game one 10-1, before dropping game two 5-2 to move to 5-11 on the season.
Michigan-Dearborn loaded the bases to start the game in the top of the first.
Sidney Pennycuff pitched her way out of the jam striking out two Wolverines and limiting them to just one-run on a sac fly.
The Patriots answered in the bottom of the first as
Elisa Mauldin drew a two-out walk.
Tara Comer and
Morgan Santos followed with back-to-back singles as Mauldin scored to even the score at 1-1.
MiKayla Vires and
Emily Fox both walked putting UC ahead 2-1 with the base loaded. The next batter,
Lexi Jones, sent smashed a grand slam over the left field wall to give Cumberlands a 6-1 lead.
Cumberlands added to their lead in the second as
Kailin Yantz led off with a single. Mauldin walked before Comer single to right to load the bases with one-out. Santos followed with a two-run single off the left field fence to give the Patriots an 8-1 lead.
Pennycuff continued to cruise in the circle as she limited Michigan-Dearborn to just three hits over the next four innings with four strikeouts. The Wolverines best opportunity came in the top of the third as they had runners at second and third with one out, but Pennycuff got back-to-back infield pop outs to get out of the jam.
The score remained 8-1 until the bottom of the fourth as Comer hit a one-out single. Santos singled before Fox walked to load the bases. Jones and
Madison Huber tallied back-to-back RBI singles to make it 10-1 in favor of UC.
Pennycuff got a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth to close out the game and posted her third complete game of the season.
Jones led the way going 3-3 with five RBI, while Santos finished 3-3 with three RBI. Mauldin and Fox each walked twice and combined for three runs scored.
Comer made her first career start in game two and retired Michigan-Dearborn 1-2-3 in the first inning. Kayla Laquiere doubled to lead off the second and scored on a throwing error to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. Michigan-Dearborn scored one in the third to extend their lead to 2-0.
Cumberlands battled back in the bottom of the third as Yantz and Mauldin both walked and Huber singled to load the bases. Comer followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Yantz and cut the deficit to 2-1.
Michigan-Dearborn tallied two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to extend their lead to 5-1. Cumberlands looked to battle back in the seventh a Yantz hit a one-out double. Two batters later, Mauldin hit an RBI single to center to make it a 5-2 game. Comer walked to bring the tying run to plate, but Kaylie McConnell got Santos to fly out to end the game.
Yantz led the way in game two going 2-3 with two runs scored. Mauldin went 1-2 with two walks and a RBI.
The Patriots will return to the field Sunday, March 16, when they host travel to Lawrenceville, GA to take on top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett in a doubleheader. The games are slated to begin at 12 p.m.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, SnapChat - @UC_Patriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.
