Knoxville, TN- The 12^th ranked Patriots swept todays doubleheader against Johnson (TN). UC took the first game 4-2 behind a late rally, then took the second game 17-6. Cumberlands advance to 19-4 on the season.

Game One

Jorge Garcia got the start and the win in game one. He pitched 4.0 innings scattering five hits for two runs, no walks and three strikeouts. Dustin Sprong came in relief and pitched 2.0 innings only allowing one hit, no runs, and three strikeouts. Cesar Avila came in to get the save and struck out the side. Max Harper and Evan St Claire had the Pats only hits, and they both notched doubles.

The Royals got on the board first as they scored one run in the second and fourth inning. UC answered in the top of the fifth with four runs. Harper led off with a double to left field. St Claire followed with a double down the right field line for an RBI. Next, Ben Snapp got walked. Both runners advanced on a fielder's choice, and UC scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2. Luis Alvarez followed with a RBI sacrifice bunt to take the 3-2 lead. A few plays later, the Pats scored on a sacrifice fly from Raphy Almanzar for the 4-2 lead. The Patriots held on to the 4-2 lead to win the game.

Game Two

In game two, UC got the bats goings as they put up 17 runs. Harper led the way at the plate going 2-4 with both hits being homeruns for five RBIs. Ryan Shavers went 2-3 with a homerun, three RBIs, and a stolen base. Sujel Arias and Snap's lone hits were homeruns. Josiah Santiago went 1-2 with an RBI and two stolen bases.

Bryan Juarez pitched 4.0 innings, allowing four hits for four earned runs, with six strikeouts. Tyler Shafer came in relief and pitched 2.0 innings, not allowing a hit with five strikeouts, and one walk. Chipper Korbacher closed the game out as he pitched 1.0 inning allowing two hits with three strikeouts.

Almanzar got walked to start the game. Two batters later, Arias hit a two-run homerun to take the 2-0 lead. The Royals took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of half of the inning.

Later in the fourth inning, Cumberlands added four runs to take the lead. Harper led off the inning with a solo homerun. St Claire followed with a single to left center, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Santiago notched an RBI single down the right field line to tie the game. Next, Shavers hit a two-run shot to regain the lead, 6-4.

The Royals cut the lead to one in their next at-bat, and UC answered with eight runs in the fifth. Harper got walked to start the inning. Then, two batters later, Snapp hit his homerun for the 8-5 lead. Both Santiago and Shavers got walked. A few pitches into the next at bat, both Santigao and Shavers stole a base. An RBI single from Almanzar gave UC the 9-5 lead. After a fielder's choice, Arias got walked to fill the bases. Then Harper stepped to the plate and hit a grand slam for the 14-5 lead.

In the top of the sixth, The Patriots added one more run to their lead. With one out Caden Petrey reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Almanzar followed with an RBI single.

UC scored two more runs in the top of the seventh for the 17-6 lead. With one out, St Claire singled through the right side. Snapp then reached on an error, and St Claire advanced to third. A Santiago walk filled the bases, then an RBI walk from Shavers made it a 16-6 game. An RBI fielder's choice from Petrey scored the final run of the game.

Cumberland will return home this weekend for their next MSC series against Bethel University. The series will start with a doubleheader on Thursday March 16^th at 2 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, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.