Mobile, AL – The #24 Patriots softball team defeated the #2 Mobile Rams not once, but twice for the team's first true road games of the season. UC took it to the defending NAIA Champion runner-up from 2022, putting up 11 runs across the two games. Cumberlands took game one, 5-2 and then won 6-3 to close out the series, giving Mobile their first back-to-back losses since April 21, 2021.

Makenzie Keatts had the big bat on the day, driving in four RBI and Carly Oliver was right behind her with three of her own. The Pats tallied five extra base hits with doubles from Keatts, Oliver, Bailey Turnbow, and Mackenzie Pawlak while Hailey Wood notched a triple.

In the circle, it was a full team effort from the arms of Kaiti White, Talli Burgess and Morgan Radford. White got the start in game one, going 6.0 innings, giving up just two runs and striking out one. Radford got the start in game two, pitching 5.0 innings, limiting the Rams to two earned runs and striking out one. Burgess pitched in relief for both contests, shutting the door on Mobile in both. Across both games, Burgess threw three innings allowed no runs, three hits while striking out two
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GAME ONE: PATS TAKE DOWN MOBILE, 5-2
It was a pitchers duel through the first four innings of the contest, with UC just getting two base runners on from a hit by pitch and an error. White and the defense took care of business for Cumberlands to keep the game scoreless. In the first inning, the Rams had a runner on and the batter hit a ball into left field for the double. The baserunner tried to take third, but Keatts rifled the ball into Emily Bryant who applied the tag and rung the runner up.

In the second and the third innings, Mobile once again got a pair of runners on, but White worked out of the jam. In the second she earned a strikeout and then in the third got a flyout and a groundout to allow no runners across.

The fifth was when the game broke open for the UC offense. Turnbow drove the first pitch she saw to right field for a double to leadoff the inning. Turnbow advanced to third and then scored from the squeeze bunt that Meryn Livingston put down for the 1-0 lead. Taylor Green came in to run for Livingston. She advanced to second off a pinch hit Radford base hit, making contact with the first pitch she saw. Wood notched a single of her own to load the bases for Oliver. With speed on the bases, Oliver roped the ball down the left field line scoring both Green and Radford. Then Keatts followed it up with the fifth straight single in the inning to score Wood, making it 4-0.

UC got a three up, three down inning on defense and got back to work with the bats in the sixth inning. Once again, a double propelled the offense, this time Pawlak launching the ball into left field.  Back-to-back singles up the middle from Livingston and Radford scored Pawlak to push the lead to 5-0.

Neither team scored in their next half innings, but in the seventh the Rams tried to mount a comeback. They earned two singles, and it brought Burgess to the circle. Mobile earned another single and a hit by pitch scored their first run. Another single scored a run and left the bases loaded and the winning run at the plate. However, Burgess stayed calm and collected on the mound, issuing two popouts and a groundout to win the game 5-2.
 
UC DEFEATS MU FOR THE SWEEP, 6-3
The Patriots wasted no time in scoring for game two. Wood earned a leadoff single and swiped second to be in scoring position with just one out. She then advanced another 60 feet after a wild pitch and Keatts took care of the rest, blasting a ball to left field, allowing Wood to tag and score to be up 1-0.

The Rams answered back in the bottom half  of the frame off a walk and an error to tie the game at 1-1. Then a pair of hits in the third gave Mobile their first lead of the day at 2-1.

A 1, 2, 3 inning in the third capped by Radford striking out the final batter ignited UCs offense. Pawlak earned a leadoff walk and Paxton Hoop pushed her to second with a SAC bunt. Radford came in to hit for herself and once again came up clutch, lacing the ball to right field for the triple to tie the game. Wood hit a hard ball that the shortstop had to dive at, allowing Radford to score and Wood to be safe at first. Wood then stole her second base in the game to be in scoring position for Oliver. The Georgetown, KY native hit the top of the left field wall scoring Wood, and she advanced to third on the throw to be just 60 feet away from another run. Keatts hit another hard grounder and it allowed Oliver to come home for the 5-2 lead.

The bottom half of the inning, Mobile had a hitter get the ball to the outfield who tried to take second. Pawlak picked up the ball and fired to Maddie Sickau at second, to gun down the runner.

In the sixth, Mobile led the inning off with a solo home run to left field and then had a single, brining Burgess into the circle. The runner advanced from first to third, but Burgess recorded a popout, strikeout and groundout to leave the runner stranded keeping it at 5-3.

Cumberlands got the run back in the top of the seventh, led by Kaysee Dale's single to left field. She moved to second off a SAC bunt from Wood. Two batters later, Keatts laced the ball to left center to score Dale and extend the lead to 6-3.

Burgess struckout the first batter in the seventh and then got a flyout. Mobile got a runner aboard, but a grounder to Sickau ended the game and secured the two-game sweep for Cumberlands. It also gave Burgess her third save of the season.

The wins mark the first time UC has defeated a top-five team since Head Coach Bailey Dillender took over the team in 2018. Cumberlands now improves to 19-2 on the season and closes out their trip to Alabama with a 6-1 record and wins over three ranked opponents.

UC will be back on the diamond on Saturday, March 11 when they head to Bryan College for a doubleheader. The first game is set for a 1PM first pitch.
 
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