Campbellsville, KY – The 4th ranked Patriots opened their final Mid-South Conference series of the season on the road against Campbellsville University. UC split with the Tigers on day one of the series, recording an 11-8 hard-fought victory followed by a tough 10-8 loss. The Patriots recorded 19 runs on 25 hits. Cumberlands now sits at an overall record of 40-5 and a MSC record of 21-1.

GAME ONE: PATRIOTS RALLY TOGETHER AGAINST TIGERS, 11-8
An electric finish inning was initiated by a leadoff single to third base from Carly Oliver. Jade Gainer put Cumberlands on the board early with a two-run blast over the centerfield fence. With a 2-0 lead, Amber Atkins reached base on a single to shortstop but was unable to cross home. The bottom of the first saw the Tigers respond with a solo shot of their own to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Tigers ended up recording a total of two runs on three hits, making the score even at the end of the first inning (2-2).

An eager Patriots team continued to tack on runs, starting with a walk from Emily Bryant and a sacrifice bunt from Aniyah White moved the runner into scoring position. A walk from Morgan Radford paired with a wild pitch placed runners on the corner, where an RBI single from Oliver recaptured the Patriots lead. With runners on the corner, a Jade Gainer rip up the middle knocked another two runs in to elevate UC to a 5-2 lead over the Tigers. A trio of pop ups from Talli Burgess sat the Tigers down in one, two, three fashion to move the game into the top of the third frame.

Atkins led the third inning off with a disciplined plate approach to draw a walk. Cumberlands continued to put the ball in play but was unable to add to their lead. The bottom of the third saw the Tigers garner three runs on three hits with pitcher Lindsey Shope coming in for relief and closing the bottom of the third, tied at 5-5. A strong team effort saw Kaysee Dale and Oliver leadoff the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles. Another RBI from Jade Gainer came in the form of a rocket down the right field line, giving the Pats a 6-5 lead once again. In for relief, Shope handled business on the mound and record three quick outs to prevent the Tigers from scoring again.

A quiet fifth inning did not stop the Patriots from an explosive sixth inning. The top of the sixth saw UC quickly fall to two outs, before back-to-back solo shots from the Gainer twins added to the Pats lead, 8-5. Makenzie Keatts carried the momentum with a double down the left field line before Atkins cranks a two-run blast of her own for a 10-5 Patriot lead. Bailey Turnbow joined in and blasted her own solo shot to give Cumberlands an 11-5 advantage over the Tigers. The Tigers recorded one run on two hits to close the bottom of the sixth with an 11-6 Patriot lead. In the seventh inning, the Tigers added on two more runs on two hits, but Shope closed the side with a pop up to shortstop and secure the game one 11-8 victory.

LEADERS
Leading the way offensively, Jade Gainer was perfect at the plate, going 4-4 with six RBIs and two runs. Oliver was 3-5 at the plate, recording one RBI and two runs while Atkins was 2-3 at the plate with two RBIs and one run. Turnbow went 2-4 at the plate with one RBI and one run as well.

Pitcher Shope recorded her 14th win of the season after tossing 4.1 innings, recording three strikeouts, and only allowing five hits. She faced 21 batters and recorded 70 pitches.

GAME TWO: PATRIOTS SPLIT WITH TIGERS, 10-8
In game two, the Pats fell behind early seeing the Tigers record four runs on four hits through the bottom of the second. While trailing 4-0, UC recorded their first hit of the game on an Aniyah White leadoff single. Unfortunately, Cumberlands was unable to cut the deficit and continued to trail the Tigers.

The Tigers tacked on two more runs on two hits in the bottom of the third to extend their lead to 6-0. The top of the fourth saw Keatts rip a single to shortstop but was unable to muster a run. Pitcher Kaitlyn Schofield recorded a three-up, three-down inning to send the Pats back on offense. The fifth frame saw UC hit the board and cut the deficit, sparked by a Turnbow single to center field. After capitalizing on defensive errors, White reached first and swiped second to see runners placed in scoring position. A Dale walk loaded the bases, follow by a fielder's choice play for Oliver to push a run across. Back-to-back RBI single from the Gainer's cut the Patriots deficit to 6-3. However, a relentless Tigers' offense tacked on two more runs on one hit for an 8-3 lead over UC.

The sixth inning saw Cumberlands come within two, starting with an Atkins single to left field. A Turnbow RBI double to right center field followed by a White RBI single in the same location. An RBI double from Oliver capped off the top of the sixth, seeing the Patriots rise to score of 8-6. The Tigers were persistent and once again added to their lead, tallying two runs on four hits. Down to their final three outs, the Pats capitalized on defensive errors to see Jade Gainer reach first, followed by a walk from Keatts. With runners on first and second, an Atkins single up the middle and Turnbow's fielders' choice play tacked on another run to cut the Tigers lead to three, 10-7. An RBI single saw Bryant push another run across the plate, making the score 10-8, but ultimately was not enough as the Patriots fell short.

LEADERS
Leading the way offensively, Turnbow was 2-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs while White was 2-4 with one RBI and two runs. Atkins was also 2-4 at the plate followed by Oliver, Keatts, Bryant, Jade Gainer, and Amber Gainer recorded a hit apiece.

The Patriots will remain on the road in Campbellsville, KY to complete the series against Campbellsville University. Game times tomorrow are slated for 1:00 p.m. (EST) and 3:00 p.m. (EST).

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