Williamsburg, KY-  The 12^th ranked Patriots got the series win as they swept todays doubleheader against Bethel (TN) behind an amazing defensive performance. UC took the first game 5-4 in walk off fashion, then notched a shutout to win the second game 6-0. Cumberlands breaks the 20-win mark as they advances to 21-4 on the season.

Game One

Cesar Avila got the nod to start and pitched 2.1 innings only allowing four hits for two runs, with two walks and two strikeouts. Knicko Billings came in relief and pitched 4.1 innings giving up two hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. Chipper Korbacher closed the game and picked up the win as he pitched 1.1 innings, not allowing a hit or run with three strikeouts.

At the plate, three Patriots went 2-4. Starting with Raphy Almanzar who went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Ryan Shavers and Caden Petrey also went 2-4. Max Harper went 1-4 with his lone hit being a RBI single to walk off the game.

Bethel took an early lead as they scored one run in their first at bat. UC tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Almanzar reached on an error, and Charlie Muniz followed with a double to left center, to put runners on second and third. Harper got an RBI as he reached on an error, to tie the game at 1-1.

The Wildcats regained the lead as they scored another run in the second, the Patriots answered with two runs to take their first lead of the day. The at bat started with a Shavers single to center field. Three batters later, Almanzar and Muniz both got hit by pitches to fill the bases. Sujel Arias would step to the plate and notch a two RBI single through the left side for the 3-2 lead.

After a couple scoreless innings, the Patriots added one more run to their lead in the sixth. Shavers led off the inning with a single towards third base. Caden Petrey followed with a single through the left side. Then Josiah Santiago notched a bunt single to fill the bases. Almanzar would  then get an RBI single through the left side for the 4-2 lead.

Bethel was able to tie the game at 4-4 to force the game into extra innings. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Almanzar led off with a double down the left field line, then he advanced to third on a fielding error. The Wildcats intentionally walked Muniz, and courtesy runner Kevin Perez stole second a few pitches later. Two batters later, Harper stepped up and hit the RBI walk off single to right center to win the game 5-4.

Game Two

In game two, UC notched their four shutout of the year to win the series. Shavers led the way as he went 1-2 with his lone hit being a homerun, while adding three RBIs. Josh Simon went 2-3 with a double and one RBI, while Petrey also went 2-3 at the plate. On the mound, Garrett DeClue got the start and the win as he pitched 4.0 innings, scattering five hits for no runs, with a walk and four strikeouts. Hunter Rigsby came into close and picked up the save as he pitched 3.0 innings, only allowing four hits and striking out three.

After a scoreless first and second inning, UC got on the board first scoring a run in the third. Simon led off the at-bat with a double to right field. He would advance to third on a wild pitch, then score on a sacrifice fly from Shavers to take the 1-0 lead.

In the next Patriots at-bat, UC added four more runs to their lead. Arias started the at-bat with a single up the middle. Harper singled up the middle, as Arias advanced to third. An RBI single from Evan St Claire gave the Pats the 2-0 lead. St Claire would steal second a few pitches later. Ben Snapp then got walked and St Claire went to third on the wild pitch. St Claire then scored on an RBI fielder's choice from Simon. Shavers followed with a two-run bomb over the left field fence for the 5-0 lead.

UC added one more run to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, to go up 6-0. Harper led off the inning with a single to left center, then advance to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Simon singled towards first base, and advanced to second on an error, while Harper scored on the play.  

With the 6-0 lead, Cumberlands knew they only needed three outs to win the game and the series, and they got the job done. After allowing two hits, Rigsby notched a strikeout, followed by a caught foul ball. The last out came on an outfield assist from Snapp in left field as he threw home, and Muniz applied the tag for the win.

Cumberland will look for the sweep in the series finale tomorrow March 17, at 2 pm.

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