Georgetown, KY – Small ball would be the name of the game on Saturday in UC Baseball's doubleheader against the #22 ranked Tigers of Georgetown College. Earning a win in game one of the doubleheader 5-1 would give the Patriots the series win, but Cumberlands was unable to come away with a sweep as GC would rally late to take the final game by a score of 3-2. The split on Saturday moves UC to 25-4 overall on the year and 5-1 in Mid-South Conference action.
 
Game one: Avila continues dominance on the hill
UC starting pitcher Josh Avila is off to a great start in the 2019 season and that did not change on Saturday. Although only one of five UC runs was driven in by a Patriot, it was the ability of Avila keeping them off the scoreboard that led the Patriots to victory.
 
Cumberlands would find their way onto the scoreboard first in the top of the second. With runners on in scoring position and two away, J.C. Santos would strike out, but the pitch was dropped as Santos made his attempt to beat out the throw. The throw by GC catcher Chris Gilbody was off target, allowing Santos to reach and the other runners to advance 90 feet, bringing home Bryan Leef for a 1-0 Patriot lead.
 
The game was quiet until the top of the sixth. A single from Raudy Martinez would lead off the inning but would be followed by a pair of strikeouts. Martinez would steal second to get to scoring position. A single from Leef would put runners on the corners as GC would turn to their bullpen, pulling starter Bryan Torres for reliever Brandon Kreenrich. A walk to Santos would load the bases for Robbie Stroub. A first pitch hit-by-pitch would advance all runners, bringing home Martinez for a run. On the next pitch, a balk was called against Georgetown, allowing Leef to come in to score, giving UC a 3-0 lead.
 
UC added to their lead in the eighth. Jose Rojas would lead off the inning with a walk but would quickly move to second on another Tiger balk. A strikeout and flyout would follow but Rojas would advance to third on the flyout, putting him at third with two down. A hard-hit grounder would be misplayed by the Tigers' second baseman Larkin Heldt, tallying their second error of the contest and allowing Rojas to come in to score to make the lead 4-0.
 
Rolon would lead off the ninth with a single followed by a walk to Pedro Nazario, putting two on with no one down. A flyout would allow Rolon to tag and move to third, placing runners on the corners with one down. A groundout to the pitcher allowed Nazario to advance to second with two down, but another balk by Georgetown would bring home Rolon later in the inning, pushing UC's lead to 5-0.
 
Nicholas Purpera would come in to close out the game for the Patriots and would allow a lone run after a walk, a stolen base, and a single, but that's all the Tigers could muster, giving UC the win.
 
Aliva advanced his season record to 5-1 with the win today. He went eight innings allowing no runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven in the victory.
 
Game two: Late game heroics upends UC to prevent sweep
Cumberlands quickly found their way on the scoreboard and into the lead in the first. A single from Orley Arellano followed by a walk to Martinez put two on with one down. GC would attempt to roll a double play up the middle, but a wild throw by GC's second baseman Shota Usuda would put an error on the board and a run across as Arellano would come around to score, giving UC an early 1-0 lead.
 
Georgetown would follow in the second with an RBI single from Usuda, bringing Val Stammler home to tie the game at 1-1. UC and GC would trade blows in the next few innings, but a sudden stop to the game would change things up quickly. With one on and two down, a 2-2 pitch from UC starter Nathan Geissler would miss for ball three, but Geissler would seek attention from the dugout and would suddenly come out of the game. Moise Carrasco would come into the game, allow two more base runners in the inning, but would leave them stranded as he worked his way out of the jam and sending the game to the sixth tied at 1-1.
 
A one out single from Stroub in the sixth would prove pivotal for the Patriots. Courtesy runner Britton Elmore would come in and be tested quickly as Marquis Orozco would double deep down the left field line. Elmore would show his speed, coming around to score from first to give UC the lead back, but Orozco would be cut down attempting to stretch it to a triple. Rolon would follow with a two-out single but would also be cut down trying to make it a double.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, a pinch hit single from Krennrich would be the only batter to face Carrasco as Hampton Clark would come in from the bullpen. Tyler Wagner, who came in to run for Krennrich, would eventually come in to score on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Joseph Wall, tying the game at 2-2 heading into the seventh.
 
UC would get Martinez on via a double and Leef on via an intentional walk, but both would be stranded heading into the bottom of the seventh. Purpera would come in to attempt to keep UC's hopes alive, but Georgetown had other ideas. A single by Gilbody would lead off the inning followed by a sacrifice bunt to send him to second. An intentional walk to Nick Gimabalvo would follow to put the double play in order, but a double steal by the Tigers would be successful, putting runners in scoring position with one down. Wagner would then hit a sac fly into center field, just deep enough to score Gilbody from third as the Tigers would pull out game three by a score of 3-2.
 
Purpera would get tagged for his first loss of the season after 0.2 innings of work, allowing the one run on a hit and a walk. Starter Nathan Geissler went 4.2 innings allowing just one earned run on four hits and a walk while fanning four.
 
Up Next
UC returns to action at home on Tuesday, March 26^th as they host the University of Cincinnati-Clermont for a doubleheader that was rescheduled from rainouts earlier in the season. First pitch is slated for 3 pm.
 
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