Lawrenceville, GA – Patriots successfully make the comeback to garner their first win of the new season. In a battle between teams receiving votes in the national poll, Cumberlands downed Rio Grande 3-2.
 
Hailey Wood and Emily Jasper both went 2-3 at the plate in game one of the day, all singles mostly to left field grass. Wood, however, was pivotal to put two of the three scores on the board, the last coming from Katie Cheeseman.
 
Four Patriots registered a multi-hit game two in the second loss to Reinhardt: Wood, Jasper, Cheeseman, and Tori Malone. Wood had the biggest day overall though, going 4-6 across two games with five runs scored and an RBI.
 
From the circle, Kaitlin White recorded her first collegiate win in her first start of the season, third overall appearance. Over the complete game, she allowed two runs on six hits, striking out three batters as well. She now sits 1-2 overall after the loss in game two of the day, racking up 10.2 innings of work across all four games, sporting a .319 average against and striking out four.
 
GAME ONE: CUMBERLANDS DEFEATS RIO GRANDE, 3-2
Patriots now outscore their opponents 9-0 in the first inning of action, taking the 2-0 edge against the Red Storm in the first. Wood led off with a single for the Patriots, followed by back-to-back hits by Maddie Sickau and Meryn Livingston to left field, loading the bases.
 
Cheeseman gave Cumberlands the first run on the board by batting in Wood, reaching first on error to keep the diamond juiced. Acacia Gray endured at the plate to garner the second RBI, collecting four balls for the free pass to first.
 
The Red Storm bounced back to tie up action with solo runs recorded in the third and fourth innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Wood doubled her hit tally with her second hit of the day to lead off through the left side. After stealing the Patriots first base of the season, an infield single from Jasper's bat put a run on the board for the Patriots as Wood used her speed for 120 feet to slide safely at home.
 
Starting in the circle, White allowed only one hit in the first two innings, six total on the day. She noted a total of four three-up three-down innings with the help of her fielders. White dropped three batters to strikeouts in her first collegiate win.
 
GAME TWO: CUMBERLANDS FALLS TO REINHARDT, 9-8
Cumberlands dropped their second game to the Reinhardt Eagles, who had the walk-off two runs in the bottom of the seventh. The Patriots had a strong showing overall in the team's second match-up of the season, four players recording multi-hit games.
 
Battling back with two outs on the board, Sickau was the first to cross the plate off the bat of Livingston and a subsequent Reinhardt error. Three more runs lit up the scoreboard in the second inning as the Patriots took the 4-0 advantage in the early going.
 
Corinne Haverland sacrificed her at bat with a bunt to put both Gray and Malone in scoring position. Wood stepped up to the plate to note a big RBI single up the middle, ending up at second on the throw. Jasper notched the two-RBI single to shallow center to extend the lead.
 
After a blank side, the Patriots once again rallied in the fourth beginning with a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. Livingston had the biggest hit of the game, a double deep into right field for two runs to cross the plate. Cheeseman tallied the RBI to let Taylor Green, pinch running, across the plate to take the 7-1 advantage.
 
Paige Parker started in the circle for the first time this season, seeing 3.1 innings of action. Over the stretch, she allowed four Eagle hits and dropped three on strikes. Reinhardt initially narrowed the margin in the third with a homerun, before charging two more against Parker in the fourth.
 
The Eagles tied the game at seven-all with four runs scored across the fifth and sixth. After a free pass to first, Wood stole two bases to threaten in scoring position. The rookie scored on a routine groundout to give the Patriots an edge.
 
An RBI triple and single up the middle by Reinhardt ended the Patriots run at the Grizzly Open, closing the weekend with a 1-3 record to begin the season. The loss was charged to White, who came into the game as a reliever in the sixth.
 
UP NEXT
Following, the Patriots return back to the Williamsburg area for the Bear Creek Tournament, hosted in Oneida, TN next weekend. There, the Patriots have six games slated over the course of three days against several teams receiving votes in the polls, including another round against Rio Grande.
 
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