Williamsburg, KY – Cumberlands baseball picked up their fourth-straight win, now outscoring opponents 33-4 since Sunday. In front of a home crowd, the Patriots routed Alice Lloyd 15-3 with runs scored in all but one inning.
Every batter in the starting line-up charted at least one hit; Cumberlands totaled 20 hits in the contest. Leading the day at the plate was
Jose Rojas, going 3-3 with two batted in.
Over Torres,
Bryan Leef and
Andres Rolon each notched a double on the day, the longest hits recorded.
In the bottom of the first, three consecutive hits plated the first run; second-man up Torres doubled in a blooper to right-center, dropping in to put the first Patriot aboard.
Ray Villanueva singled before Rojas batted in the Torres for the go-ahead score.
Runners on the corners, Leef cleared the bases with a double down the left field line. A dropped fly ball that would have ended the inning allowed the final run of the side to cross the plate.
Walter Hernandez got the call to start on the hill for the staffed rotation. He rung up five batters in his three innings of work, striking out the side in the second. He allowed only one hit and another baserunner from a walk. He closed his outing with a one-two-three inning in the third, striking out one.
In the second,
Pedro Nazario singled to left to get aboard; he stole his third base of the season as well in the inning, advancing into scoring position on a fly out to right. Rojas' second single of the day was roped to left field to plate a run.
It was a two-out rally in the third that plated another pair of runs and move the margin 7-0 in favor of the home team.
Candido Encarnacion led off with a single followed by
Brian Garcia roping one to right. Runners on the corners, Nazario plated both runners on the two-RBI single to left before being stranded at third by inning's end.
The Patriots opened the flood gates in the fourth to taking their largest lead of the evening. Villanueva led off the inning with a single, collecting two more bases on a single from Rojas. The speed of Villanueva continued, reaching home on Leef's sacrificed fly to right. Leef and Nazario both ended the day with three runs batted in.
Encarnacion notched his second hit of the day followed by a free pass to first to load the bases for
Rolando Rodriguez. The catcher's lone hit of the night was a two-RBI single through the left side. Another single loaded the bags again,
Kevin Rolon getting a piece of the action. Nazario noted his third RBI of the night with a single to left center.
The Bat Pats continued to pound hits through the left side, Torres rounding out four straight bats through the hole at short stop to plate yet another run in favor of the Patriots.
Yariel Diaz bodied a pitch to get credited with an RBI and a free base. It was the 13th run for the home team.
Jake Kampen entered the game in relief of Hernandez in the fourth, getting defensive help to get out of a jam, a hit up the middle turned into a double play turned on the 4-6-3. The right-hander struck out back-to-back in the fifth before the first two runs scored for the Eagles.
The Eagles cut the deficit to 13-3 with another run scored in the sixth.
Corey Linz earned the run before striking out back-to-back. He got an assist on the final putout, a grounder back to him on the mound.
The final insurance runs were added in the sixth, moving the final run margin to 15-3.
Gavin Hayes got the call up, reaching base on an error before coming around to score his first collegiate run. That was thanks to
Frank Garcia lacing a hit through the hole at short.
Andres Rolon previously put Hayes in scoring position as well, doubling to deep right field for his biggest career hit. Diaz followed Garcia with the same punch through the left side to plate Rolon.
Coming in to close out on the hill,
Hector Abreu allowed only one base runner on a walk. The Eagles' runner was stranded as Abreu rung up the final batter. The pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts in the game, the 14th time this season with double-digit K's.
As a team, Cumberlands is inching closer to 250 on the season, surpassing 200 over the weekend at Martin Methodist. Over the same stretch, the Patriots have allowed less than 100 runs to their opponents.
With the midweek game behind them, Cumberlands will travel to Georgetown this weekend for another conference series. First pitch on Friday against the Tigers will be at 6 PM; Saturday's doubleheader is set for 1 PM.
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.
