Williamsburg, KY – After taking the series opener on Friday, #6 UC (19-5, 3-0) completed the sweep of Cumberland University (12-13, 0-3) in its first Mid-South Conference series of the season on Saturday afternoon at Doyle Buhl Stadium. Cumberlands took both games of the doubleheader with a 16-13 victory in game one and an 11-1 win in game two. The Patriots combined for 27 runs on 29 hits across the two games and outscored the Phoenix 27-14 on the day.
No. 6 Cumberlands Holds Off Phoenix, 16-13
UC survived a back-and-forth offensive battle in game one, using an eight-run sixth inning to secure a 16-13 win.
JD Price picked up the victory in relief to improve to 2-0 on the season after throwing 1.1 innings. The Patriots used four pitchers in the contest to close out the high-scoring matchup.
At the plate,
Justin Veloz had a huge performance, going 2-for-4 with a grand slam and six RBI.
Derick Andiarena went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI, while
Johnboy Rittenhouse added a three-run homer.
Dariel Castillo also chipped in two hits and scored twice.
Cumberland struck first with a run in the opening inning before adding two more in the second to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Patriots responded in the bottom of the second when Veloz ripped a two-RBI single to tie the game at 3-2. In the third inning, Andiarena drove in Castillo with a single before Rittenhouse blasted a three-run home run to give UC a 6-3 advantage.
Cumberland battled back in the fifth and sixth innings, using a pair of home runs to regain the lead at 11-8.
UC answered in a big way in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases, the Patriots pushed across multiple runs before Veloz delivered the biggest swing of the game, launching a grand slam to left field to cap the eight-run inning and give Cumberlands a 16-11 lead.
The Phoenix added two runs in the seventh, but Price and the Patriot bullpen held on to secure the 16-13 win.
No. 6 Cumberlands Finishes Sweep with 11-1 Win
In game two, the Patriots used a dominant pitching performance and a late offensive surge to finish the sweep with an 11-1 victory.
Stuart Tharle earned the win to improve to 4-0 on the season after throwing six strong innings. The right-hander allowed just one run on six hits while striking out seven.
Justin Cortez closed out the final two innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two.
Derick Andiarena paced the offense with a massive game, going 4-for-5 with a home run and six RBI.
Ronald Almanzar added a home run and two RBI, while
Pedro Vasquez also went deep as part of the Patriots offensive outburst.
After five scoreless innings to begin the game, Cumberland scored the first run in the top of the sixth to take a 1-0 lead.
The Patriots quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Castillo singled before Andiarena blasted a three-run home run to left-center field to give UC a 4-1 advantage.
UC broke the game open in the seventh inning, plating five runs on six hits. Vasquez delivered a two-run home run before Almanzar followed with a two-run blast to extend the lead to 9-1.
Cumberlands added two more runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by another RBI single from Andiarena, to finish off the 11-1 victory and complete the conference sweep.
Cumberlands will remain at home for a midweek matchup against Reinhardt on March 17
th. First pitch from Doyle Buhl Stadium is set for 4 p.m. ET.
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