Williamsburg, KY – The No. 4 Patriots (36-5, 11-1) completed the sweep of No. 22 Freed-Hardeman (30-13, 10-5) in grand slam walk-off fashion with a 14-10 victory on Sunday afternoon at Doyle Buhl Stadium. UC batters compiled 13 hits and four home runs while the pitchers totaled six strikeouts.
Chipper Korbacher took his second start of the season on the mound, throwing three strikeouts across 2.2 innings. Entering in relief,
Jake Kmiecik pitched 1.2 innings and
Wesley Culley went for 1.2, with one strikeout.
Jared Shelton closed the game for the Pats, recording two strikeouts in 1.2 innings, ultimately earning him his first win of the season.
Charlie Muñiz batted 3-for-5, tallying two home runs, one of which was his second grand slam against the Lions to walk-off game three.
Max Harper went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, a double, and an RBI walk. The third baseman,
Caden Petrey, hit 1-for-3, marking a home run and a sacrifice fly.
After two scoreless innings, Freed-Hardeman was first to score, leading 2-0 in the top of the third.
The Lions were persistent and scored seven runs on four hits, capitalizing on defensive errors to lead 9-0 in the top of the fourth frame.
In the bottom of the same inning, the Patriots responded with one run off a solo homer by Charlie Muñiz, 9-1.
The Patriots put up a seven-spot in the bottom of the fifth, trimming the deficit to 9-8.
Caden Petrey led off with a solo shot to left field. The next batter,
Ben Snapp, reached on a throwing error by the Lions' shortstop and advanced when
Christian Thompson followed with a walk. Charlie Muñiz loaded the bases with a fielder's choice and was substituted for pinch runner,
Jay Flynn. The base runners moved up on a wild pitch, allowing Snapp to score. To add one more run,
Evan St. Claire popped an RBI infield single to the first baseman.
Max Harper followed with an RBI single up the middle enabling Flynn to cross the plate. After a pitching change,
Johnboy Rittenhouse sent St. Claire home with a groundout. Harper plated a run on an
Alec Gonzalez double, and ultimately scored when Petrey sent a sacrifice fly to center field.
UC tied the game at 9-9 in the bottom of six, with a solo home run from
Christian Thompson.
Freed-Hardeman recaptured a 10-9 lead with a sacrifice fly, in the top of the seventh.
Cumberlands evened the score in the bottom of the eighth inning, 10-10. Snapp led off with a single, took second on a fielding error by the Lions' left fielder, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. To load the bases, Muñiz was intentionally walked and Freed-Hardeman's pitcher issued a walk to St. Claire.
Max Harper walked in a run to tie the game.
The Patriots ended the game with a grand slam by Muñiz in the bottom of the ninth, for a final score of 14-10.
Jose Valentin led off the inning with a walk, and was substituted for pinch runner, Flynn. Snapp reached on a single to left center and Thompson was walked to load the bases. The final batter of the game, Muñiz, homered for the second time in game three, to bring all the runners home and secure the sweep of Freed-Hardeman.
#4 UC Baseball will travel to face Midway in a midweek game on Tuesday April 16
th, in Midway, KY at 3 p.m.
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