Williamsburg, KY – The #5 Patriots earned a hard-fought 13-12 win over Lindsey Wilson on Wednesday evening. Cumberlands improved to 10-2 overall on the season and remain unbeaten (5-0) at home.
Oliver Kerns earned his first win of the season in his first appearance for the Pats in relief. The sophomore entered the ballgame with the scored tied and three a scoreless frame.
Jake Kmiecik recorded his first save of the season. At the plate,
Derick Andiarena led the way, going 3-for-3 with two RBI, two walks, and three stolen bases.
Caden Petrey went 2-for-5 with a homerun and an RBI. Charlie Muniz and
Pedro Vasquez also recorded homeruns in the win.
The Patriots jumped out to an early lead again in this one, scoring three runs on two hits.
Christian Thompson led off the inning with a walk, then stole second a batter later. Andiarena followed in the three spot with an RBI single through the left side, advancing Thompson to third. Andiarena then stole second to put two runners into scoring position with one out.
Max Harper drew a walk to load the bases for
Pedro Vasquez. Vasquez was then hit by a pitch to bring home the first run of the game. Following the second out of the inning, UC was able to take advantage of a Lindsey Wilson wild pitch to bring in another run. Next at-bat,
Ben Snapp hit an RBI single to left field to score Harper and give the Pats a 3-0 lead.
Lindsey Wilson responded right away in their next at-bat with two runs to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Blue Raiders took their first lead of the game in the top of third with two runs on two hits to give them a 4-3 lead.
That lead did not last long as Cumberlands had a response of their own. Andiarena singled to left center to lead things off, then quickly stole second the next at-bat. Harpen then walked for the second time in as many at-bats, followed by a balk to advance the runners to second and third. Vasquez managed to hit a fly ball deep enough for a sacrifice fly to score Andiarena and tie the game at 4-4.
Alec Gonzalez regained the lead for UC at 5-4 with an RBI groundout.
UC kept that momentum rolling in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of the long ball.
Caden Petrey hit a solo homerun to left field to make it 6-4, his third of the season. Then, Charlie Muniz blasted one over the fence for a two-run homerun, notching his team-leading fifth homerun of the season, and increasing the lead to 8-4.
In the top of the sixth inning, Lindsey Wilson tied the game up at 8-8 with a four spot.
Cumberlands answered once again via the long ball, this time from
Pedro Vasquez to give UC a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the seventh, his second of the season. Couple of batters later, Charlie Muniz drew a bases loaded walk to add to the lead. Next at-bat, Andiarena continued his stellar game at the plate with a 2-RBI single, extending the lead to 12-8. One batter later, Vasquez was hit by a pitch for the second time with the bases loaded to make it a 13-8 ballgame.
The Blue Raiders fought back in the top of the ninth to make things interesting. Lindsey Wilson hit a three-run homerun to reduce the deficit to 13-11. They tacked on another run and suddenly it was a one run game with two outs and two on.
Jake Kmiecik entered the game to try and record the final out. Following a hit by a pitch, Morgan forced a groundout to third base to end the game and secure the save.
UC will host Rochester Christian this weekend for a four-game set with two games on both Saturday and Sunday. First pitch for the Saturday doubleheader will be at 1 p.m. ET from Doyle Buhl Stadium.
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