Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots opened the 2024 season by hosting the Cumberlands Invite. Early offensive efforts paired with stellar pitching performances led Cumberlands to collect their first two wins. Defensively, Talli Burgess, Kaitlyn Schofield, and Morgan Radford recorded six strikeouts and only allowed four hits on the day. Offensively, UC tallied 17 hits and 12 runs with seven of those being extra base hits. The Patriots sit at an overall record of 2-0 on the season.
GAME ONE: PATRIOTS SLIDE PAST COUGARS, 4-2
UC opened the season with three up, three down on defense before an explosive offensively led inning. Carly Oliver sparked the momentum with a double off the center field wall followed by a two-run shot from Jade Gainer in her first plate appearance as a Patriot. Amber Atkins followed suit in her UC debut with a blast of her own to elevate Cumberlands, 3-0. A pitching change did not slow the Pats, seeing a single to center from Amber Gainer who quickly stole second. Emily Bryant capped off the bottom of the first with a triple to left center, giving a 4-0 Patriot advantage at the end of the first.
Talli Burgess faced three batters in the second, collecting two strikeouts and a flyout to send UC back on offense. The Patriots loaded the bases but were unable to capitalize. Burgess allowed her defensive to back her, but the Patriots' bats remained quiet. In the fourth inning, the Cougars were held at bay while UC saw a single to right from Morgan Radford. Oliver followed with a fielders' choice before swiping second, putting her in scoring position. Cumberlands put the ball in play, but was unable to find a gap, leaving the score at 4-0 headed into the fifth.
UC's defense held strong as the Cougars were unable to produce. The bottom of the fifth saw hard hits from the Patriots, but the score remained 4-0 in favor of UC. In the top of the sixth, the Cougars were able to score two runs off a trio of singles and fielders' choice plays to make the score 4-2, UC. UC retaliated with a Shelby Radford double to left center, followed by a ball from Morgan Radford that moved Shelby Radford to third. UC was unable to score but was diligent on defense to collect their first win of the 2024 season, 4-2.
GAME ONE LEADERS
Morgan Radford led the way offensively, going 2-3 at the plate, while Oliver was 1-3 at the plate with one run. Jade Gainer followed, going 1-2 with one run and two RBI's while Atkins rounded out with one RBI and one run.
Pitcher Burgess was perfect through five innings, collecting her first win of the 2024 season. Reliever Schofield recorded an inning and a half, collecting her first save of the 2024 season.
GAME TWO: CUMBERLANDS BLANKS TROLLS, 8-0
The Patriots continued their defensive slate with Morgan Radford leading in the circle. In the bottom of the first, Oliver started things off with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With Oliver in scoring position, a double down the left field line from Jade Gainer put UC up early, 1-0. Amber Gainer continued the rally with a hit-by-pitch followed by a Bryant walk to load the bases. A single off the bat of Bailey Turnbow saw three runners cross the plate, elevating UC's lead to 4-0.
Morgan Radford remained strong in the circle, serving up three routine plays for Patriot's defense, sending them into the bottom of the second. A single to short from Aniyah White followed by a single to short from Oliver moved runners into scoring position, seeing White score by capitalizing on their opponent's errors. Jade Gainer swiped second, seeing runners on second and third when an Atkins double raised UC's score to 7-0.
In the third inning, Morgan Radford continued to serve up ground balls and popups to the Cumberlands' defense. The bottom of the third featured a Turnbow single with a wild pitch to move her into scoring position. White moved Turnbow to third where a Morgan Radford single to center capped the Patriots' score at 8-0. Morgan Radford remained hitless through the fifth inning, recording her first no-hitter as a Patriot, the first no-hitter since April 23rd of 2021, and Cumberlands' second win of the season.
GAME TWO LEADERS
Oliver led the way offensively, going 2-3 at the plate with two runs. Turnbow was perfect, going 2-2 with three RBI's and a run followed by Jade Gainer, who was 1-3 with one RBI and two runs.
Pitcher Morgan Radford recorded her first no-hitter, only allowing one walk and tallying three strikeouts.
UC will finish up the Cumberlands Invite with a pair of games on Friday, February 9th. They will play Trinity Christian College (IL) at 12:30 P.M. followed by Cleary University at 3:00 P.M.
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