By: Sutton Jacobs
Box Score Williamsburg, KY – Cumberlands picked up their 30th win of the season over Midway, getting started with early runs and capping off the night with a rally. The win tallied number 700 for Coach
Brad Shelton during his time at the helm for the Patriots.
With a tenure of 20 years and counting, coach Shelton passed another milestone with 700 wins. He took the victory over his colleague Luther Bramblett, head coach for Midway, both of whom got their starts at St. Catherine (Ky.), a former JUCO and NAIA institution.
Cumberlands scored six early and rounded off the night with another eight runs in the sixth and seventh innings. A trio of home runs by
Over Torres,
Bryan Leef and
Candido Encarnacion boosted the Patriots over the visiting Eagles.
The Bat Pats struck first in the early going, plating a run in the first inning.
Ray Villanueva earned his free base after getting hit by the pitch, stealing a base as well. Torres batted in his teammate on the hit to right field for the 1-0 advantage.
Midway tallied a pair of runs in the second to take their only lead of the contest.
Andres Rolon hit big in response to bat in the tying run on a double. After scoring an inning ago, Villanueva picked up his first RBI on a single to right-center. Leef stepped in to tab his 16th homer of the season, skied high over the left field wall. He now moves to second in the NAIA for home runs this season.
Cumberlands was unable to plate another runner until the sixth. Over the stretch, the Eagles battled to come within a run but were fended off big innings by the Patriots bullpen. Eleven members of the pitching staff made an appearance in the contest, at maximum seeing an inning of work. The group totaled 15 strikeouts under the lights,
Walter Hernandez,
Garrett Vathroder,
Garrett DeClue and
Josh Descher each with a pair.
Second man up, Torres sent a rocket over the fence on the first pitch seen in. The solo shot came after the Eagles moved the game within one in the top side of the inning. Leef chalked his third hit of the day to follow, moving into scoring position on his second stolen base. Encarnacion singled to left-center to extend the Patriots lead back to three runs.
Villanueva tallied a second RBI on the night with a piece of contact to score
Frank Garcia, previously reaching on a pinch-hit walk. Torres also batted in another runner, this time
Kevin Perez crosses into the dugout with a run scored. Leef recorded back-to-back hits through the hole to make it a four-run ball game. Two outs and runners on first and second, Encarnacion blasted his fifth homer of 2021 to extend the Patriots lead to a lucky seven.
Leef and Torres both recorded four hits for the Patriots early in the lineup. Meanwhile, Villanueva and Encarnacion offered another pair of hits each. Cumberlands scored 14 runs on the same number of hits.
Cumberlands will remain in Williamsburg for the upcoming conference series with Campbellsville. At this time, the three-game slate is set to begin with a night game against the Tigers on Saturday followed by a Sunday doubleheader.
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