Williamsburg, KY – After splitting their season opening doubleheader on Saturday, the Patriot baseball team took to the diamond on Thursday in a mid-week doubleheader against the Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene University. UC saw two solid starts out of their pitchers coupled with hanging 27 runs on the board in two games as the Patriots won game one 14-5 and game two 13-6, improving their season record to 3-1.
Game one's start would be handed to
Nathan Geissler and he would not disappoint. After sitting the Cougars down in order in the first, he would find himself in a jam in the second, walking the bases loaded with two down. Geissler would settle down and force a fly out, leaving the bags full in the frame. In the bottom of the inning, the Patriots got things going offensively. After a one out double from
Bryan Benz,
Bryan Leef would drill a single to left, scoring Benz to make it 1-0. After stealing second and moving to third on an error, Leef would come in to score on a RBI single by
Rolando Rodriguez to extend the lead to 2-0.
Marquis Orozco added to the lead in the inning with a two-run single of his own, making it 4-0 after two.
The Cougars would get on the board in the third after a walk, a stolen base, and a pair of groundouts to make it 4-1 Patriots. Moving to the fourth,
Orley Arellano would join the ledger driving in a pair on a single, pushing the lead to 6-1 UC. In the fifth, the Cougars would go to their bullpen, but the reliever would be welcomed with a rude awakening. After a leadoff triple from Leef,
Rolando Rodriguez would hit a two-run home run out to left on a full count to just get things started for the Patriots. UC would put together nine hits in the inning, scoring eight runs to go up 14-1.
The Cougars would get into the bullpen of the Patriots in the sixth, scoring four runs on four hits, but that would be all they could muster as the Patriots would come away with a 14-5 win. Geissler earned the win going five innings allowing just one run on no hits and six walks while striking out one.
Game two would see
Josh Avila take the hill for the second time this season as he looked to move to 2-0 on the young year. Although not seeing his best stuff in the game, UC was able to give him enough run support to earn the victory. He ended the night going 5.2 innings allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk while fanning eight.
Mount Vernon would get on the board in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly, but UC would respond in the bottom half with a run of their own on a sacrifice fly by
J.C. Santos, who was just getting his night started by tying the game at 1-1. MVNU would retake the lead in the third on a RBI groundout, but the Patriots would respond. Santos would come back to the plate with two on and one down. On a 2-0 count, Santos would smash a three-run home run, his first of the season, over the right field fence to give the Patriots a 4-2 lead.
Cumberlands would see the big inning come up again, this time in the fourth. Six runs would come across the plate which included a two-run double from Santos and a two-run single from
Pedro Nazario to make it 10-2 Patriots. A four-run fifth inning by the Cougars would see them cut into the lead at 10-6, but UC would respond again. An RBI double from Arellano in the fifth coupled with a two-run single from
Jose Rojas in the sixth would give UC the extra insurance they needed for the 13-6 win. Santos would finish the night 2-3 with six runs driven in and a pair of run scored.
Full stats from the doubleheader are available online.
The Patriots return to action on Saturday, February 16
th as they will host the Cougars of the University of St. Francis (Ind.) for the first of back-to-back doubleheaders. First pitch on Saturday is slated for 2 pm.
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