Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Williamsburg, KY – Patriots baseball hit the road for a spring break double-header on Monday afternoon, defeating Lourdes 14-2 before falling to 5th ranked Georgia Gwinnett in game two 6-3. UC baseball is now 20-3, closing in on the halfway point of the 2020 season.

Game One

Lourdes opened the game with a three hit inning that produced a pair of runs, going up 2-0. The Patriots answered with three runs of their own thanks to a pair of home runs. First, Ray Villanueva reached on a walk before being scored by a two-run home run off the bat of Pedro Nazario, his sixth of the season. With one out, Candido Encarnacion blasted a solo home run to give the Patriots the 3-2 lead.

The Patriots added another trio of runs in the bottom of the second, led off by a double from Rhett Gipe. Noah Davis came into courtesy run for Gipe and later scored along via a double from Nazario, his third RBI of the day. Bryan Leef flared a single thru the hole, scoring Nazario and Kevin Rolon as the Patriots extended their lead, making it 6-2.

The bottom of the third saw the Patriots swing for four hits from Austin Madry, Kevin Rolon, Villanueva, and Leef. With two outs, Austin Madry began the rally with a single down the third base line before advancing to second after Gipe's walk. Villanueva cranked a two RBI double down the left field line that scored both Madry and Davis. Nazario reached on walk, loading the bases for Leef who smashed a grand slam, making it 12-2 UC.

Madry's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth scored Kevin Rolon, making it 13-2. Guillermo Villegas singled in the bottom of the sixth and later scored on a wild pitch to give the Patriots the 14-2 lead, which they would hold onto through the final inning.

Corey Linz gave the Patriots a complete game effort, going seven innings while allowing seven hits, two runs and striking out five. Linz earns the win and improves to 2-0 on the season.

Game Two

The Patriots notched a single run on a pair of hits in the first inning of game two, led off by a single from Villanueva who was later scored by an RBI single from Encarnacion.

Another two runs came across the plate for UC in the second inning, with the first coming by a solo home run from Mitch Osbourne. Kevin Rolon and Villanueva singled in the inning, with Rolon eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly.

The Patriots were held scoreless in the remainder of the contest as the Grizzlies tacked on four more runs in the seventh and eighth innings to secure the 6-3 victory.

Thomas Gutierrez got the start for the Patriots, going four innings allowing two unearned runs on a pair of hits while striking out four. Jacob Ayala went three innings, picking up the loss after giving up two runs on two hits. Garrett Vathroder went an inning to close, allowing an additional pair of runs and striking out two.

UC baseball  will return to the diamond tomorrow, March 10^th as they travel to Waleska, GA to take on Indiana Tech and Reinhardt. First pitch against Indiana Tech is scheduled for 12 PM.