Williamsburg, KY – The UC Baseball Patriots move on to the championship game after downing the Lyon Scots in a 16-13 bout in the elimination bracket finale on Wednesday in the NAIA Opening Round Williamsburg Bracket. With the win, the Patriots extend their record to 46-9 while the Scots close out their season with the loss, 40-22 on the year.
 
The Patriots highlighted their day with three homers to plate a total of four runs for the board. Bryan Leef led off UC's scoring efforts with a solo shot over the wall in the fourth. In the sixth, J.C. Santos sent his first pitch over right, followed by Pedro Nazario's two-run bomb to center. The team now stands tall with 99 total home runs during their 2019 campaign.
 
Prior to the home runs, the Patriots posted five runs in the fifth. A bases loaded Balk by Lyon's Tanner Johnson plated Santos to begin the rally. After an infield single loaded the bases, Raudy Martinez cleared the bases with a double to further the UC advantage. Rojas sacrificed his at bat, flying out to center and scoring Martinez.
 
The Scots combatted a 9-0 deficit to close the margin by scoring eight runs against the Patriots pitching staff in the bottom of the sixth. Alan West, Kyle West, Tristan Buschow, Tanner Seibel, Ryan Clack and Jake Michener each collected RBI in the frame.
 
Cumberlands responded to the 9-8 score line with three more runs chalked in the seventh. Kevin Rolon highlighted the inning with a two-RBI double deep down the left field line. Robbie Stroub later doubled in the eighth, batting in his 32nd run of the season to put the Patriots up 14-9.
 
Jose Rojas went four-of-five from the plate on the day, including a ninth-inning, disputed single down the left field line. Originally ruled foul, Head Coach Brad Shelton appealed the call with the umpires, resulting in the overturned RBI. Bryan Benz picked up the final RBI of the day, batting in Martinez.
 
In their final chance, the Scots posted four runs in the bottom of the ninth, unable to topple the top-seed Patriots. Kyle West and Buschow led off with back-to-back singles, followed by Zane Pritchard doubling down the right field line to score the first run of the inning.
 
Buschow scored on an RBI ground out. Clack singled up the middle to load the bases, with pinch-runner Dalton Earnest later scoring on an error by Rojas. A balk by Colton Easterwood scored the final run for the Scots, as Lyon came up empty with the line-out and ground-out that followed.
 
The win would go to Patriot starter Nathan Geissler who gave UC 5.1 innings of work. He allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. Colton Easterwood would also record a three inning save, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits while fanning three on strikes.
 
Lyon's Tanner Johnson would be tagged with the loss allowing six earned runs on eight hits while sitting four down on strikes.
 
UC now take on the Warriors of Indiana Tech on Wednesday at 5 pm in the Williamsburg Bracket Championship. A win would force the if necessary game on Thursday, May 16^th at 12 pm to see who gets the bid to the 2019 Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. A loss will finish the Patriots' season at home for the second straight season in May's NAIA Opening Round bracket.
 
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