Crestview Hills, KY – Cumberlands took the series with the win in the first game on Saturday, leading the day at the plate was
Kevin Rolon. The Patriots have won five conference series this season.
K. Rolon tallied five hits in eight at bats, leading the team with four RBI between the games.
Bryan Leef went .500 through day two with consistent singles to get the Pats aboard.
Game One: Cumberlands wins, 15-3
K. Rolon turned up the heat in the second game of the series. With a homer and double in game one, he hit the same a day later while adding in a pair of singles. He was one of six Patriots in the lineup with a multi-hit game.
Candido Encarnacion tallied two homers to open the day against the Saints. He boasted an eighth inning grand slam to move his RBI count in the game to six.
For the second-straight game against the Saints, Cumberlands notched several runs in the first two innings to take a quick lead. Leef began a two-out rally in the first with a single through the left side, quickly advancing to third on a stolen base and wild pitch.
Jose Rojas batted his teammate in on a follow-up single. Encarnacion slugged the first of his homers straight back to add another pair of runs on the board.
An inning later,
Rhett Gipe led off with a double to set up K. Rolon's two-run homer. He sent the long ball over the fence in back-to-back games against Thomas More, now with eight on the season.
Pedro Nazario and Leef notched the second and third doubles of the inning, switching places to score another run before Leef advanced on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly to give the Patriots a 7-0 advantage.
Thomas Gutierrez recorded his ninth start of the season, going on to win with five strikeouts in six innings of work. Thomas More put a run on the board in the second and third innings, meanwhile the Patriots got out of jams each time with double plays turned.
Over Torres homered deep over the left field fence on the first pitch of the sixth inning. The run added to the Patriots tally, sustaining their 8-2 edge until the eighth.
Leef's and Rojas' hits and Encarnacion's walk loaded the bases and the Patriots began to rally again late in the game.
Brian Garcia batted in the first run on an outfield single. One out, Gipe and K. Rolon singled to bring home another pair. Cumberlands were left stranded as the inning ended on a double play against.
Cumberlands answered to one run against in the eight with four of their own on the other side. Rojas' singled to load the bases again and bring up Encarnacion. The third baseman, ahead 2-0 in the count, went yard to left-center to cap the game at 15-3.
Game Two: Thomas More wins, 6-2
The Patriots clinched the conference series despite dropping the second game of the day to the Saints, 6-2. In the seven-inning affair,
Nathan Geissler earned a pair of runs while dropping four on strikes.
Rojas was the lone Patriot to record a pair of hits in the later game, scoring a run. Cumberlands was held to six hits against the Saints while scoring twice.
Frank Garcia and K. Rolon betted in the runs scored.
Cumberlands struck first in the second inning as Rojas tagged a single through the hole at short as the leadoff batter. A walk and a dropped fly loaded the bases for the Patriots, Cumberlands only able to score one on a sacrifice fly.
Thomas More answered with a pair of runs in the third. They went on to score over the next three innings as well to take a 6-1 lead on the Pats.
Cumberlands attempted to rally in the seventh; F. Garcia hit a one-out infield single to get on and advanced on a groundout. F. Garcia came home from scoring position on a single by K. Rolon down the left field foul line. Another groundout cut the day short, stranding a pair on.
Up Next
The Patriots return home for a non-conference matchup with Georgetown on Tuesday night, 6 PM. They follow with a road trip to Alice Lloyd to face the Eagles for the second time this season, and cap their MSC season with a trip north again, this time to Shawnee State next weekend.
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