Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots run-ruled the Phoenix of Cumberland University 9-1 in back-to-back games on their Senior Day to clinch their third consecutive Mid-South Conference Regular Season Title. UC are now 31-6 on the year and a perfect 14-0 in conference play, putting them out of reach in the MSC standings.
 
Lindsey Shope earned her 15^th win of the season in the first game throwing another complete game while only giving up one run off four hits and striking out four batters. Jessica Cord earned the win in game two to put her in double digits on the season. Cord finished with a compete game allowing just one run off three hits and also struck out four.
 
At the dish, Bailey Turnbow went three for seven with four RBIs and scored a pair of runs while Carly Oliver finished the day three for six with an RBI and two runs scored. Maliyah Wilkins added three hits and three RBIs with Marquila Howell was the final Patriot with three hits on the day.
 
Pats Use Big Fourth Inning to Win Game One
After a three-up-three-down inning from Shope to begin the game, Amber Gainer drew a walk and stole second to get into scoring position with no outs. Wilkins then singled through the left side, scoring Gainer from second to give UC the early lead.
 
The Phoenix answered back in the second with a run to tie the game back at 1-1, but Shope limited the damage by striking out the final batter to leave a CU baserunner stranded at second.
 
Neither team scored until the fourth inning where UC blew the game wide open. Jade Gainer began the rally with a leadoff walk and moved to second after a Jules Johnson single. Aniyah White then advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt, and Gainer scored one batter later off an infield single from Howell. A. Gainer then was hit by a pitch to load the bases for McDonald, who put the ball in play to score Johnson from third. Oliver then delivered an RBI single to left field, scoring Howell for the third run of the inning. UC took advantage of a CU miscue scoring on an error from the center fielder, putting runners on the corners for Turnbow. The senior came through on senior day, blasting the pitch over the center field wall to give UC the 8-1 lead.
 
After Shope delivered another pair of quick innings in the fifth and sixth, Oliver led off the offense with her second single of the game. She moved up 90 feet after a Wilkins walk, and both runners advanced after another CU error that loaded the bases. J. Gainer was then hit by a pitch to score Oliver and give UC the 9-1 run-rule victory.
 
Bats Get Hot Late to Give UC Series Win
Cord started the game in the circle, and stranded a Phoenix runner on second in the first to give her team a chance to take an early lead. The Pats did just that as a single from Oliver and a walk to Wilkins put two runners on for Turnbow. The graduate senior came through once again with a single back up the middle to score another senior in Oliver.
 
After striking out two more CU batters in the top half and stranding another runner on second, Cord gave her team another opportunity to grow their lead. The first two runners got on as White singled to the shortstop and Howell was hit in the head with a pitch. After a pair of pop ups from UC, Oliver drew a walk to load the bases. Wilkins then stepped to the plate and took the pitch the other way for a single to right, scoring Howell and White to make it 3-0 in favor of Cumberlands.
 
Neither team scored until the top of the fourth when CU scratched a single run across to pull within two. Cord responded right back in the fifth with her fourth strikeout of the game, keeping the two-run advantage into the bottom of the fifth.
 
The Patriots bats exploded in the fifth as they tallied seven-straight hits to score six runs and take the five-inning run-rule win. Wilkins and Turnbow started the rally with back-to-back infield singles to the shortstop. J. Gainer then singled to left, scoring Cloe Smith who came in to run for Wilkins. Ryann Livingston was then called on as a pinch hitter, and recorded the third infield hit of the inning to load the bases. Destry Lambert continued the streak with a single through the left side for a pair of RBIs, bringing the score to 6-1. Howell followed with another single, scoring Livingston from second base. A. Gainer then capped off the game on her senior day with a two RBI double over the left fielders head to give her team the 9-1 victory in the fifth inning.
 
This marks UC's 19^th straight win, and the 17^th run-rule of the season for the Pats. They will look to continue this success as they travel to No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett this wednesday for a single game.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on X - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.