Williamsburg, KY – The #4 Patriots (35-5, 10-1) take both games of their Mid-South Conference twin bill, 5-3 and 10-4, to clinch the series over #22 Freed-Hardeman (30-12, 10-4), on Saturday afternoon at Doyle Buhl Stadium. Across the two games, the UC batters totaled 18 hits, with six home runs, one of which was a grand slam. The pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts in each game, for a total of 28.

No. 4 Cumberlands Creeps Past Lions, 5-3
In game one of the series, Cesar Avila pitched a full seven innings and recorded a new career-high of 14 strikeouts, while going three up, three down in two innings. The junior holds a winning record of 8-0 and an overall ERA of 2.72.

At the plate, Evan St. Claire finished 2-for-3, marking two RBIs and a home run. Max Harper batted 2-for-4 with one home run.

UC took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Charlie Muñiz reached base on a single to left field and was substituted for pinch runner Jay Flynn. To put two runs on the board, Evan St. Claire homered to right field.

In the bottom of the third, the Patriots added three more to lead 5-0. The second batter of the inning, Max Harper, sent a solo long ball over the left center fence for one run. Johnboy Rittenhouse was issued a walk and Alec Gonzalez followed with a single through the left side. Both base runners scored on a fielding error by the Lions' center fielder during Trent Prokes's at-bat.

Freed-Hardeman jumped on the board with a solo home run in the top of the sixth, 5-1.

The Lions trimmed the deficit, in the top of seven, for a final score of 5-3 with an RBI double.

No. 4 Cumberlands Tops Freed-Hardeman, 10-4
The starting pitcher, Knicko Billings, improves to 6-0, following his completion of eight innings with 12 strikeouts. Until the top of the seventh inning, Billings allowed no hits and no runs to be scored, while only walking one batter. Caleb Plummer entered in relief to throw the final inning and recorded two strikeouts.

The designated hitter, Charlie Muñiz, hit 1-for-4 with a grand slam that totaled four RBIs. Evan St. Claire went 2-for-2, hitting two home runs for three RBIs. Batting 2-for-3, Max Harper recorded an RBI single and an RBI double.

In the bottom of one, UC put one run on the board to take a 1-0 lead. Evan St. Claire was issued a walk to reach base and advanced to second on a groundout. Max Harper sent St. Claire home with an RBI single through the left side.

The Patriots added two in the bottom of the second, to lead 3-0. With two outs, Thompson singled up the middle and scored when St. Claire homered to left field.

Cumberlands took a 7-0 lead, scoring four runs off three hits in the bottom of the third frame. Caden Petrey reached base on a single to left and advanced on a single by Thompson. To load the bases, St. Claire was issued a walk. In the next at-bat, Charlie Muñiz launched a grand slam over the left field fence, making him the second Patriot to reach at least 20 home runs in multiple seasons.

In the bottom of the fourth, Johnboy Rittenhouse marked a solo home run to left field, taking the Patriot lead to 8-0.

UC tacked on two more runs on two outs in the bottom of the fifth, 10-0. For the third time against the Lions, St. Claire knocked one out of the park. The next batter, Muñiz, was able to reach on a throwing error by the catcher on a drop-third strike, and he plated the final Patriot run on an RBI double hit by Harper.

Freed-Hardeman responded late, putting up two runs off a homer, in the top of the seventh inning, 10-2.

The Lions sent another homer out of the park in the top of eight, but still trailed 10-3.

For their final run of the day Freed-Hardeman homered one more time for a final score of 10-4, in the top of the ninth.

The #4 Patriots look to complete the sweep of #22 Freed-Hardeman on Sunday April 14^th, at Doyle Buhl Stadium, beginning at 1 p.m.

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