Bowling Green, KY - Ray Villanueva started a fifth inning rally for the Patriots, leading the charge for the comeback win. The 8-2 victory over Freed-Hardeman advances the Patriots to their first tournament championship game since 2018.
In the bottom of the fifth, UC exploded for five runs. A crucial solo homer to left field by senior Villanueva cut the Lions' lead to 2-1. Three consecutive singles for Torres,
Bryan Leef, and
Jose Rojas loaded the bases for Cumberlands.
Candido Encarnacion reached on a fielder's choice and scored Torres from third to tie the game at two.
During the next at-bat,
Brian Garcia struck a single up the middle to score Leef and give the Patriots their first lead of the day. A walk was issued and the bases loaded again for
Rolando Rodriguez. The catcher poked a single into center field to score two for the 5-2 Pats lead.
Five Patriots tallied multi-hit games at the plate, Villanueva and Leef leading with homers apiece and
Over Torres noting a two-out double.
Jake Kampen recorded his third win of 2021 out of the bullpen, recording four strikeouts through 2.2 innings of work.
With his strikeout in the third inning,
Colton Easterwood became the new program leader for career strikeouts. It was his fifth of six strikeouts he tallied in his four innings of work from the hill, tallying his 110th of the season and 284th of his Patriots career. The previous holder of the record was former teammate
Zach Hurley.
It was the first meeting of the season between the Patriots and the Lions, as well as first in program history.
Kampen took the mound for UC in the top of the fifth and eliminated any Lions threat. After checking in, Kampen tallied a strikeout and two groundouts to shift the games momentum. He held the opposing bats to only two hits in his short stint.
Cumberlands added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Again, Villanueva got the inning started with a single to center field. A two-out rally put a pair of runners in scoring position for Rojas. The first baseman stepped into the batter's box and poked a single into center field to score Villanueva from third and Leef from second. UC took the 7-2 lead to the seventh inning.
The Lions countered with bases loaded in the top of the seventh. Kampen retired the second out of the inning on strikes before allowing
Jacob Ayala his spot on the hill. On a full count, Ayala whistled a strike to strand three Lions and end the inning on back-to-back strikeouts without any damage done.
The Patriots turned solid defense into offense in the bottom of the eighth. Leef launched his second homerun of the tournament to left field to extend Cumberlands lead to 8-2.
In the top of the first, Easterwood struck out the first two batters he faced, getting ahead 0-2 in the count across several batters faced. Freed-Hardeman got on the board first; a shallow pop-fly dropped into center field to score the first run of the game. The Lions look a 1-0 lead into the second inning.
The Patriots threatened in the bottom of the second but stranded two baserunners. Encarnacion recorded the first hit of the day for Cumberlands as he slapped a single to left field. Next, Garcia reached via a walk. A flyout and a strikeout would get Freed-Hardeman out of the inning.
The Lions took another run from the Patriots in the third before being shut down by the Patriots bullpen late in the game. In the bottom side, a two-out double down the third-base line by Torres gave the Patriots a runner in scoring position, later stranded.
Three teams remain in the MSC Tournament with a pair of games happening on Saturday afternoon at Bowling Green Ballpark. The Patriots will face the winner of the consolation bracket; still vying for a chance at the tournament crown against Cumberlands includes Georgetown, Thomas More and Freed-Hardeman.
Tomorrow's championship game will take place 12 PM central in Bowling Green, KY. Stats will be provided by Campbellsville while live video is courtesy of Sporting Times. The Patriots look for their first MSC Tournament title since 2017, first conference regular-season and tournament sweep since 2004.
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