Williamsburg, KY – The UC Baseball team would have to battle both the elements as well as the top seeded Lions of Bryan College today in an elimination game in the NAIA World Series Opening Round Williamsburg Bracket. After a near four-hour lightning delay after just two pitches in the contest, the game would see three lead changes before the Lions would hold off a rally from the Patriots late to take an 11-8 win over UC. The loss moves the Patriots to 47-11 on the year as well as ending the 2018 season for Cumberlands.
 
The Lions would strike first as Trevor Behrent sent the second pitch of the game over the left field wall for a lead-off home run off UC starter Anthony Martinez to give Bryan a 1-0 lead. The game then went into a lightning delay that would last just at four hours. After play resumed, the Patriots would answer in the bottom half of the inning. After a lead-off single, a stolen base, and a E2, Roberto Prado would find himself on third with one out. A high chopping groundout from Raudy Martinez would bring home Prado, tying the game at 1-1.
 
Cumberlands took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the second as the Patriots used a walk and back-to-back singles to load the bases with no one down. Catcher Robbie Stroub drew an RBI walk to score Bryan Benz and give the Patriots a 2-1 lead. Prado followed with a two-run single of his own while Orley Arellano drove in another on a RBI groundout, pushing UC's lead out to 5-1 through two innings of play.
 
Bryan responded with a run in the top of the third on a RBI single from Behrent, make the score 5-2 UC. Bryan then would have their own big inning, loading the bases with no outs in the fourth. A Tyler Scott RBI single, a hit-by-pitch on Behrent, and a Wade Weinburger walk would tie the game at 5-5. A wild pitch by UC reliever Garrett Vathroder followed by a single from Fernando Garcia off the Patriots' Hampton Clark, another reliever in the inning, brought in another pair of runs, giving the Lions a 7-5 edge.
 
An RBI single by David Scoggins extended the lead even further in the fifth, shooting the Lions out to an 8-5 margin after five innings of play. In the top of the seventh, another RBI hit-by-pitch would be dealt as Tyler Scott was hit, bringing in a run to make it 9-5 Bryan. After a bases loaded strikeout for the second out of the inning, a mental lapse by the Patriots would allow courtesy runner Prentice Young to steal home, scoring a run to double over the Patriots 10-5 through six and a half innings.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, a pair of errors from BC along with some heads up base running by the Patriots would allow UC to score two, cutting the lead to 10-7 after seven innings of play. The Lions would respond with an RBI single by Rodney Tennie to make it 11-7 Lions. The Pats would score one run in the ninth, but would not muster anymore as they would fall 11-8.
 
Anthony Martinez would be saddled with the loss for UC, ust his second los of the year. He would go 3.1 inning allowing seven runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
 
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