Williamsburg, KY – The bats swung in favor of the home team; a hot first inning led to the 12-2 win over Bethel, capping the three-game series. Cumberlands held off the Wildcats in the final innings for their 19th win of the season.
 
Jose Rojas was a consistent bat for the Patriots, going three-for-three on the day and scoring every time up. The home team got back to the long-ball game, slugging three homeruns in the contest.
 
Responding to a run scored by the Wildcats to open the game, Bryan Leef went yard with a two-run shot to left field for his lone hit of the game. Cumberlands took the 2-1 margin, their first lead of the entire series with Bethel.
 
Following Leef in the order, Rojas and Ray Villanueva responded with singles to the left side of the park to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Candido Encarnacion notched his fourth homerun of the season seeing the first pitch in straight over the center-field fence. Cumberlands took the 5-1 lead into the second, stunning the Wildcats' lefty.
 
The Cumberlands pitching rotation remained consistent to round out the three-game set with Bethel, charting the second double-digit strikeout game. The run in the first was the only of the afternoon earned by Thomas Gutierrez, starting on the hill for the Patriots. In 5.0 innings of work, the junior tossed 10 strikeouts without walking a batter for the win.
 
One run scored for the opposing bats in the second; it would be their final run plated in the series. Gutierrez began heating up on the mound in the second inning, closing the side with back-to-back strikeouts. He followed with the same in the third before striking out the side in the fourth.
 
The bat-Pats chalked up back-to-back doubles off the fence. Rojas had the lead-off for his biggest hit of the day, brought around the bags by Villanueva. After moving up on a groundout, an error on a routine groundout moved the Patriots favor to 7-2 with the left fielder's score.
 
The Patriots have been consistent with getting the lead-off batter aboard, doing so again in the fourth. Pedro Nazario hit his way on base before Over Torres registered his second homer of the season, blistering the ball well over the left-field fence for two more Patriot runs. Rojas singled for his third hit of the day, coming around the diamond on a two-out RBI single by Yariel Diaz.
 
The run margin was officially extended to 10 in the bottom of the fifth. A lead-off single for Kevin Rolon got the Patriots aboard against a new pitcher. Another Wildcat error moved a run into scoring position and a walk juiced the bags. A passed ball moved the runners 90 feet and plated a run. Villanueva sacrificed his at bat for the 12th run of the contest; Nazario crossed home plate for the third time of the day.
 
Chipper Korbacher stepped to the mound in relief for Gutierrez in the sixth inning. Over the 2.0 inning outing, he picked up a trio of strikeouts to close the game.
 
While the arms remained consistent through the series, the Patriots offense got back to the usual grind after a slow start in the three-game set against Bethel. In the cap, Cumberlands rallied 12 runs on 13 hits, taking advantage of three Bethel miscues.
 
Cumberlands baseball has the rest of the weekend off, returning to action with a home game against Lindsey Wilson on Tuesday. The non-conference match-up will be a nine-inning game. A day later, the Patriots look to avenge their first loss of the season with innings on the way against #5 Tennessee Wesleyan.
 
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