Williamsburg, KY – The #6 Patriots split a doubleheader with the University of Northwestern Ohio on Thursday afternoon at Doyle Buhl Stadium. Cumberlands opened the day with a dominant 16-1 victory before falling 15-7 in game two. UC now stands at 14-4 on the season, while UNOH moves to 8-9 overall.
Game One – #6 Cumberlands 16, Northwestern Ohio 1
The Patriots erupted for 16 runs on 13 hits to take the opener in commanding fashion.
Wesley Culley improved to 3-0 on the mound, tossing a complete seven innings while allowing just one run on seven hits and striking out six.
Offensively, Cumberlands broke the game open with a five-run second inning.
Caden Petrey tripled to open the frame and later scored on a sacrifice fly from
Zamaurion Hatcher. With that run, Petrey recorded the 207th run of his career, breaking the Cumberlands program record for career runs scored and becoming the program's all-time leader.
Sebastian De La Cruz added an RBI sacrifice fly in the inning, and
Ronald Almanzar capped the frame with a three-run double to give UC a 5-0 advantage.
The Patriots continued to add on throughout the middle innings. Petrey connected for a solo home run in the third, and a seven-run fourth inning put the game out of reach. Hatcher finished 2-for-4 with four RBI, while Petrey added two hits and an RBI.
Justin Veloz went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, and
Johnboy Rittenhouse added a solo home run.
Cumberlands tacked on two more runs in the sixth to seal the 16-1 win.
Game Two – Northwestern Ohio 15, #6 Cumberlands 7
The nightcap turned into a high-scoring contest as UNOH used a late surge to earn the split with a 15-7 victory.
Cumberlands jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after taking advantage of an error and aggressive base running. The Patriots added another run in the third on a solo home run from Petrey.
UNOH answered throughout the middle innings before the Patriots responded in the fourth.
Derick Andiarena tied the game with a two-run home run, and
Ronald Almanzar followed with a solo shot to give UC a 6-5 lead.
After Petrey's second home run of the day made it 7-6 in the fifth, Northwestern Ohio broke the game open with a four-run seventh inning and added five more runs across the eighth and ninth to pull away.
The Patriots and the Racers will meet again Friday March 6
th at 1 p.m. ET at Doyle Buhl Stadium for the rubber match.
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