Williamsburg, KY – Sydney Pennycuff came to the circle in relief and walked away with a save in Friday night's win over Union Bulldogs. The Patriots split day one of the Cumberlands-Union Classic after falling to Lawrence Tech earlier in the day.
The Bulldogs scored in every inning in game two of the day until Pennycuff stopped them dead in their tracks to secure the win for the Patriots, 9-8. The sophomore delivered three strikeouts to six batters along the way and offered only one hit.
Krystin Wilson was the pitcher of record when UC took the 9-7 advantage in the fifth, and collected her second win of the year with the appearance.
Down 4-0 in the bottom of the second, doubles into the deep outfield by
Maddie Sickau and
Acacia Gray helped begin the Patriots scoring efforts, both bringing in a run. While the RBI-double was notched as Sickau's only hit on the day, the freshman continued to be a factor through her base running by scoring twice herself.
Gray, finishing the day with two hits and three runs batted in, continued the Patriots momentum, now trailing 5-2, with a single to the center. The hit guaranteed two runs to score, but a bobble error by the fielder brought
Emily Jasper across home as well to tie up the ball game.
Hayley Kilburn stepped up to the plate to deliver a single to load the bases and begin the fifth-inning scuffle. A walk scored the first run for the Patriots of the inning, but a pop out to the shortstop was critical to Cumberlands, now risking the inning with two outs and bases still loaded. However, back-to-back errors by Union – including a dropped fly ball to shallow left-center – proved costly tot eh opposition and allowed three more runs to score. After UC took their first lead of the game over Union at 9-7, the Patriots closed out the win thanks to Pennycuff's arm, 9-8.
The Patriots and the Blue Devils were caught in a pitching battle for the majority of the game earlier in the day, as both ladies starting in the circle tossed a complete game. LTU's defense on the field proved efficient toward the shutout, while the Patriots were unable to get players around the bases in the 1-0 loss.
Paige Parker got the start against the Blue Devils, throwing 114 pitches though seven innings of work. The rookie relinquished the only run recorded of the game in the fifth inning after a double to deep right center put a runner in scoring position.
At the plate, the Patriots only made efficient contact with the ball twice as
Tori Malone and
Meryn Livingston each landed a hit. Malone also got one base on balls.
Cumberlands returns to the UC Softball complex on Saturday for day two of the classic, seeing both the Blue Devils and the Bulldogs again at 4:00 and 6:30 PM respectively. The UC Sports Network will be broadcasting live on their video portal, along with live stats online through Dakstats.
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