Williamsburg, KY – Cumberlands took another pair of games from Milligan, outscoring the Buffaloes 23-2 on the road. Cumberlands took game one 13-1 with a valiant 10-run rally in the fifth. The Bat Pats followed with three consecutive three-or-more run innings on their way to a 10-1 win.
 
The Patriots have taken four games from Milligan this season, winning a pair on home ground in early March. The squad now sits at 34-5 on the year and heading into the final two conference series left on the slate.
 
Bryan Leef stepped closer to becoming the program's career home run leader, recording a long ball in each game of the double header. He now has 18 on the season – second most in the NAIA – and 47 in his Patriots career. Former teammate Bryan Benz currently holds the record of 48 homers.
 
Leef went 7-8 across both games with four hits for extra bases. In addition to his home run blasts, he also tallied a pair of doubles, now second on the team with 11. Candido Encarnacion, Brian Garcia and Kevin Rolon also recorded multi-hit games.
 
Game One: Cumberlands wins, 13-1
The Patriots added insurance to their 3-1 lead in the fifth, bringing home 10 runs. Bases loaded and consistent hitting kept the inning alive in favor of the Patriots.
 
An error and three-straight walks loaded the bases and scored the first run of the inning. Encarnacion scored the next after sacrificing his at bat. Runners on the corners, Rolando Rodriguez doubled in his only hit of the game to plate both runners on. The two-out rally continued; again three walks and an error scored three Patriots.
 
Up 10-1, Leef stepped to the plate for the second time of the inning. Leef sent first home run shot of the day over the fence despite being down in the count and scored three more Patriots runs.
 
While the bats were alive, Walter Hernandez was a force to be reckoned with on the hill. In his eight start of the season, he delivered 10 strikeouts for his sixth win. He started off the day ringing up the first before dropping another pair in the second.
 
Cumberlands struck first in the contest thanks to Leef's double. Ray Villanueva beat a throw to first for an infield single before advancing to second on a stolen base. The center fielder switched positions with his fellow outfielder on the two-bagger.
 
Jose Rojas battled his way out of a rut with a two-run blast in the third, the Patriots first homer of the afternoon. He scored Leef on the long ball, who previously singled with two outs.
 
Hernandez finished the day with 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched. He gave up three hits and one run over the stretch. With the win in hand, Josh Descher pitched effectively for his one inning of work. He rung up two of his three batters faced, not giving up a hit or walk.
 
Game Two: Cumberlands wins, 10-1
Cumberlands spaced out their offense in game two, posting three or more runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Including the game before, the Patriots have scored double-digit runs in 17 games this season.
 
After a stellar game one, Leef followed with a 4-4 outing in the later game, again noting a double and homer. Rolon and Garcia also homered, bouncing back after a hitless game one.
 
The Patriots were first to score with a three-run homer from Rolon. The long ball followed Garcia's double, who stretched to third on an error. A walk put runners on the corners for Rolon at the plate and two outs on the board.
 
Over Torres collected two bases as the lead-off in the third, slugging the ball deep down the left field line. His time on base did not last long; Leef, the next batter due up, notched his second homer of the day on a 3-0 count over left field.
 
Bases loaded and no outs, the inning continued with a trio of walks to load the bases. Milligan attempted to turn a double play but an errant throw by the shortstop scored two runs. Andres Rolon got credit for Rojas' crossing the plate on his fielder's choice.
 
The fourth brought in another trio of runs to cap the Patriots scoring for the day. Torres was hit by a pitch as the leadoff against a new pitcher, Leef followed with a single through the left side. The duo advanced into scoring position on a passed ball. Rojas batted in the first run to put runners on the corners.
 
The first two outs of the inning were recorded as the Patriots hit into a double play. Encarnacion still recorded an RBI however as Leef scored from third. Garcia rounded out the inning with a solo rocket over right field on the first pitch seen in.
 
Garrett DeClue recorded his third start of the season, earning one run in his three innings from the hill. He tallied four strikeouts before he was relived of duty by Jake Kampen. The right-hander also tallied four K's on his way to his second season win, including all three outs via strikes in the fifth. After two saves on Sunday, Garrett Vathroder closed out the game with an effective outing, allowing only one base runner for Milligan while dropping each of the final three outs of the contest on strikes.
 
K. Rolon doubled in the fifth inning but could not come around to score as Patriots ended the inning with him stranded on third. Leef noted a leadoff double as well but also was left stranded on after infield groundouts.
 
Up Next
Cumberlands will be on the road for the next two weekends as they complete the conference season at Thomas More and Shawnee State. They are slated to return to Doyle Buhl Stadium in Williamsburg for a non-conference matchup with Georgetown on April 20 at 6 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.