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Baseball Finishes the Year Ranked 11th in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll

6/9/2021 1:27:00 PM

NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll

Kansas City, MO – After putting together one of the most historic seasons in program history, the Patriots baseball team earned 326 points to close out the year ranked 11th in the NAIA Postseason Season Top-25 Coaches' Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. It marks the fourth time under Head Coach Brad Shelton that Cumberlands places in the top-15 of the final poll.

Cumberlands posted a 46-8 record, which is the second most wins in a season in program history.  This year is also the first time since 2004 that the Patriots won both the Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament titles in the same season.  For UC it marks their third straight regular season crown and third tournament title since the MSC started in 1997.

The Patriots ranked third in the NAIA in ERA with a 3.39 led by pitchers Colton Easterwood and Thomas Gutierrez.  Easterwood set UC's career strikeout mark with 293 K's, including 119 during his final season, which ranks second in program history.  Gutierrez, a NAIA All-American Honorable Mention, became the first Patriot pitcher to record 10+ wins without a loss in a season as he along with Nathan Geissler both notched 10 wins on the year.

Cumberlands balanced their strong pitching with quality hitting that is ranked in the top-ten of the NAIA in five offensive categories.  NAIA First Team All-American Bryan Leef led the way with a NAIA-best 29 homeruns to go along with 0.974  slugging percentage, and 191 total bases.  Eight other Patriots hit .300 or better on the season, including Jose Rojas, who hit .399 with 81 hits, 19 doubles, and 57 RBI's.

This is the third straight year that UC advanced to the NAIA Opening Round.  The Patriots have now been ranked in 20 straight NAIA Coaches Poll.

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