Portsmouth, OH – Four long balls coupled with an excellent pitching performance from Patriot ace Zach Hurley would thrust Cumberlands past Shawnee State quickly in their Mid-South Conference opener on Saturday by a score of 15-1 in run-rule fashion, closing the game out in seven innings. The victory improves the Patriots to 18-3 overall on the year and 1-0 in MSC play.
 
The Patriot offense got started early but was consistent throughout the day as they scored in six of seven innings. After a single from Orley Arellano and a double from Raudy Martinez, a groundout by Jose Rojas would bring in a run, pushing the Patriots out to a 1-0 lead. In the second, Bryan Leef tabbed UC's single run of the inning on a solo home run, his fifth of the year, to double their lead to 2-0.
 
A trio of RBI singles from Rojas, Bryan Benz, and J.C. Santos would make it 5-0 Patriots after two and a half innings. The Patriots would then turn to the long ball in the fourth inning, scoring all four runs on three home runs. A solo shot from Robbie Stroub, his third, a solo shot from Martinez, his fourth, and a two-run shot from Benz, his fourth, gave Cumberlands a 9-0 lead. The home run from Benz tied him with the late Jason Ellis for home runs hit in a career at Cumberlands with 34.
 
Five more runs would score in the fifth for UC. Rojas would bring in a run on an RBI walk to make it 10-0. A double from Santos would push two more runs across before another RBI single from Leef make it 13-0. Pedro Nazario then reached on an E6 from SSU, bringing one last run in for UC in the inning to lead 14-0.
 
Zach Hurley had a perfect game entering the fifth inning before surrendering his first base runner of the game on a one-out walk. He would then retire the next two batters to close out the inning. UC would go scoreless in the sixth before Shawnee State would finally make their way onto the scoreboard. A pair of walks followed by a two-out double brought in the lone Bears run of the game, making it 14-1 after six played. In the seventh, UC brought in their final run on a sac fly from Nazario, scoring Benz to make it 15-1 Patriots. A perfect bottom of the seventh would seal the game in run-rule fashion with UC coming away victorious.
 
Hurley notched his third complete game of the season, going seven innings allowing one run on one hit and three walks while striking out eight for his fourth win of the season. Ben Sellers for SSU was tagged with the loss after giving up nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits and a pair of walks.
 
UC continues closes out their three-game MSC series with Shawnee State University on Sunday, March 17^th with a doubleheader. Game one's first pitch is scheduled for 1 pm.
 
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