Bowling Green, KY – The top-seeded UC Baseball Patriots took to the field in the nightcap of a long opening day of the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Thursday against the fourth-seeded Tigers of Georgetown College, who were victorious earlier in the day over fifth-seed Lindsey Wilson College 4-2. In a dual of both team's number one pitchers, it was the Patriots who came out on top in walk-off fashion 8-7, moving on to the next round of the winner's bracket and earning an extra day of rest. The win pushes UC to 45-7 on the year. 
 
Josh Avila would get the starting nod for the Patriots against the ace of the Tigers' pitching staff Shawn Dubin. UC would struggle to get base runners on early while the Tigers would have runners on in scoring position in four of the first five innings of play. Scoring began in the third for the Tigers. After a leadoff walk to Phillip Tomasulo, Chris Gilbody would lay down a sac bunt, moving the runner to second with one down. After a balk was called against Avila, a sacrifice fly by Antonio Monroy would give Georgetown an early 1-0 lead.
 
The fifth inning would be a big one for the Tiger offense. Diego Perez would reach on a bunt base hit to lead off the inning before stealing second. A wild pitch would allow him to move to third before a sac fly by Gilbody gave the Tigers a 2-0 advantage. Georgetown would eventually load the bases with two away before Ryan Garner would pinch hit and smack a two-run double into left field, extending the GC lead to 4-0.
 
The Patriots would cut into the lead in the bottom of the fifth. With one away, Bryan Benz would take first on an error by shortstop Monroy, putting a runner on. J.C. Santos would follow suit, reaching first on an error by third baseman Sean Williams. With two on and one down, Reed Spata would ground one up the middle that was mishandled by Monroy, allowing Benz to come home to score to make it 4-1. Roberto Prado would follow with a single into center field to cut the lead in half at 4-2. Georgetown would buckle down though and retire the next two Patriot batter to strand two on.
 
Nicholas Purpera would come in to pitch in the sixth for UC and sit down the Tigers on strikes in the inning. The bottom of the inning was just as good for the Patriots as the top. With two outs, Andrew Ramos would draw a full count walk. Benz would follow on a 0-2 with a deep drive to left field over the fence, his 15^th home run of the season, to tie the game up at 4-4.
 
Purpera would load the bases with one down in the seventh before Cumberlands would go to the bullpen once again. Garrett Vathroder would come in and on his first pitch hit Ryan Garner, sending the Tigers around the bases and bringing in a run to make it 5-4 Georgetown.
 
The Tigers would add two insurance runs in the eighth, one on a single to right and another on a safety squeeze, giving them a 7-4 lead. The Patriots would respond though in the bottom of the inning with two outs. Ramos would draw a two-out hit-by-pitch to give UC a runner on. Benz would then turn on another ball, sending his second home run of the night over the left field fence, his 17^th homer on the year, to make it 7-6 GC. Santos would then follow suit with a solo shot to opposite field, his eighth home run on the season, tying the game at 7-7 heading to the ninth.
 
Hampton Clark would come in to pitch the ninth for UC and gave the Patriots exactly what they needed, a scoreless inning of work. After loading the bases with two down, Bryan Benz would play the hero. After Tiger pitcher Richard Escobedo was subbed for Michael Koltak, Benz would come up big with a RBI single over the head of the third baseman to drive in his fifth run of the game and give UC an 8-7 win over the Tigers.
 
The win goes to Hampton Clark who pitched a scoreless ninth inning with one walk. Starter Josh Avila went five innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. The loss went to Richard Escobedo for Georgetown, going a single inning allowing a run on two hits and two walks.
 
The Patriots will be back in action on Saturday, May 6^th as they will face the winner of second-seeded Campbellsville University and third-seeded Cumberland University. First pitch is scheduled for 12 pm eastern time. You can catch the game live online simulcast on the Mid-South Conference Sports Network and the Sporting Times Broadcast Network.
 
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.