Williamsburg, KY – 11th ranked Cumberlands Baseball improved to 14-0 on Sunday, continuing its historic run with a pair of victories over St. Francis. The Patriots completed the four-game sweep of the Cougars, winning game one 10-6 before taking game two by a score of 6-3. St. Francis falls to 4-7 while the Patriots remain unbeaten.

Game One

The Patriots opened Sunday's first contest with a three-run showing in the first inning, notching two hits and capitalizing on a pair of errors. Ray Villanueva reached base on error before Bryan Leef sent a scorching triple to right on the first pitch of his at-bat, scoring Villanueva. Leef crossed the plate on the following at-bat by way of a single from Alex Dominguez, who would later score on Andres Rolon sacrifice fly to right-center.

Kevin Rolon blasted a solo-shot over the fence in left-center to open the second inning, putting the Patriots fourth run on the board to make it 4-1 UC. The Patriots tallied four runs on five hits in the fourth inning, sparked by a Leef single, his second hit of the day. Candido Encarnacion came to the plate with one out and barreled a two-run homer to left-center field, scoring Leef and putting the Patriots up 6-1. Andres Rolon and Austin Madry slugged singles before a Kevin Rolon RBI double drove them both home to extend the UC lead to seven.

The Cougars managed some success in the sixth, driving in four runs on three hits to make it 8-5. In the bottom of the sixth, UC put another pair of runs across the plate as Encarnacion scored on a Mitch Osbourne sacrifice fly before Ray Villanueva roped an RBI single to score Noah Davis. St. Francis managed a single run in the seventh as the Patriots went on to win 10-6.

Thomas Gutierrez got the call to start in game one as the junior threw five innings, giving up just one run on four hits, striking out three and improving his record to 2-0. Geraldo Soriano pitched an inning of relief in his debut as a Patriot, allowing a single run on a hit, adding a strikeout.

Game Two

As has been the story for UC in 2020, the Patriots opened game two against the Cougars with a highly productive first inning. In the bottom of the first frame, Villanueva led off with a single to center field, followed by a double off the bat of Leef that put runners on second and third. Dominguez reached on a walk before Encarnacion busted a two-RBI double to right field. Andres Rolon clubbed a single to deep left-center that, bringing in both Dominguez and Enarnacion and giving the Patriots a 4-0 lead.

The Cougars put a run across in the top of the second as well as the fourth as the Patriots were held to no runs and one hit through the fourth inning. The bats returned for UC in the fifth when both Leef and Encarnacion smashed doubles, followed by an Andres Rolon RBI hit that put two runs across for the Patriots, making it 6-2. The Cougars tallied a single run in the top of the sixth frame but fell short as the Patriots won by a final score of 6-3.

Walter Hernandez earned the win in game two, moving to 2-0 on the season after hurling five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out five. Garrett Vathroder picks up the save after throwing an inning of relief, not allowing a single run and giving up just three hits.

Undefeated Patriots baseball return to the diamond on Tuesday, February 26 as they take on Union. First pitch from Doyle Buhl Stadium is slated for 1 PM.

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