Williamsburg, KY – On the final day of the series the #21 Patriots split the doubleheader against the (RV) Lions. Pitching from both teams dominated the games with each team only giving up two runs in 18 innings of softball.

The first game featured scoreless softball from both teams until Emily Bryant hit a walk-off single to give UC the 1-0 victory in the 11th inning. Hailey Wood got on board from a lead off walk and then advanced to third off a ball hit in the infield. Another batter went down having two outs on the board and Bryant stepping to the plate. With the count at 1-1, Bryant drove the inside pitch to left field easily scoring Wood and marking her second career walk off hit.

Kaiti White kept the Lions off the scoreboard for the 9.2 innings she pitched. White gave up just five hits and struck out five batters. Freed-Hardeman did find ways to get runners on the bases, but White stayed calm and stranded nine base runners.
In the 10^th inning with a runner on second, Talli Burgess entered the game, taking over in the circle. Despite issuing two walks in her 1.1 innings, Burgess limited the Lions to a single hit and did not concede a run to pick up the win, her eighth of the year. The shutout loss for Freed-Hardeman is just the second time this year they have not scored a run in a game. The lone run for the Patriots ended their 24-inning drought and marked their fifth win in conference this season.

Game two was another low scoring affair from both teams. After the 11-inning shutout the Lions got their offense going in the top of the first, picking up a run off two hits. After 1 and 1/3 innings Kaci Goedde came in for relief pitching and she stifled the Lions offense. With the bases loaded, Goedde got a fly out and ground out to keep the game at 1-0. Goedde went four innings in the game, giving up just one run off four hits and striking out a batter.

UC had a chance to tie things up in the bottom of the fourth inning after Maddie Sickau singled up the middle. Madison Huber got on base from an errant throw moving Sickau to third and Huber to second. However, a fly out ended the threat and kept the game at 1-0.

The Lions extended their lead in the sixth to 2-0 off a single and RBI triple. Lindsey Shope came in to finish the game and got the first batter she faced to swing and miss for the strikeout in the sixth inning.

The Patriots had a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning ignited once again from Sickau with her third hit of the game. She singled down the left field line and then came all the way around to score from Tori Malone's RBI double to deep right-center field.

Cumberlands was unable to push any more runs across in the seventh dropping the game 2-1. Freed-Hardeman took three of the four games to win the series, the first MSC series loss for the Patriots.

UC will hit the road for two straight weekends of MSC play starting with Georgetown on March 26. The games on Friday are set for 3:00 and 5:00 pm with live stats found here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.