Frankfort, KY – Cumberlands Baseball continued to show its consistency on the field as well as at the plate on Wednesday as they traveled north to take on the Thorobreds of Kentucky State University. Six round-trippers by the Patriots on the day would help push them to an eight-inning run-rule victory over KSU by a final score of 16-4. The victory improves UC to 35-5 on the year as they re-enter Mid-South Conference play on Thursday.
UC opened scoring in the top of the first on an RBI single from
Orley Arellano, scoring
Pedro Nazario to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead. With a leadoff single from
Jose Rojas starting the second inning,
Bryan Benz would go long, sending a pitch deep over the left field fence for a two-run home run, his eighth of the year, to make it 3-0.
Robbie Stroub would immediately follow with a solo shot of his own, this one also to left for his sixth of the season, to make it 4-0 Patriots.
A pair of runs would cross for Cumberlands in the third. With one down,
Bryan Leef and
Jose Rojas would hit back-to-back solo home runs to push the lead out to 6-0 for UC. It is the 14
th home run of the year for Leef while Rojas tallied his second of the season. The Thorobreds cut into the lead a bit in the third with two runs of their own, one on an RBI triple and another on an RBI single, to make it 6-2 Patriots after three innings complete.
Cumberlands would blow the game open in the top of the fourth, scoring six to double up their score. After a sacrifice fly from
Raudy Martinez that scored one, Rojas would drive in two more with a two-run double to make it 9-2. Benz would follow immediately with his second home run of the day, his ninth of the season, to push the lead to 11-2. Stroub would again follow suit with another solo shot, his seventh of the year, to give UC a ten-run cushion at 12-2. It was also the third set of back-to-back home runs for the Patriots in just four innings of play. In the bottom of the fourth, two more would score for the Thorobreds to make it 12-4.
Scoring would go quiet until the eighth as UC would add four more to their total, including an RBI single from
Kevin Rolon, a run scored on a passed ball, and two more on groundouts to make it a 16-4 game. UC's pitching would close out the game in the bottom of the frame to give the Patriots another run-rule victory.
Adrian Comas would move to 4-0 with the win today, going five innings allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out two.
J.T. Baksha added two scoreless and hitless innings sitting three down on strikes.
Nicholas Purpera finished out the game with no runs and no hits with a pair of walks and a pair of strikeouts in the eighth.
UC returns home on Thursday, April 11
th with a doubleheader against Mid-South Conference foe University of Pikeville as weather has altered this weekend's schedule. Game one begins Thursday at 3 pm. Game three to finish out the series comes on Friday, April 12
th at 1 pm.
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