Bowling Green, KY – The top-seeded Patriots (44-8) won a pair of elimination games on Friday at the Mid-South Conference Tournament to advance to the championship tomorrow afternoon. Cumberlands opened with a 13-6 win over #5 seed Campbellsville before defeating #6 seed Bethel 12-2 in the nightcap, avenging an earlier loss to the Wildcats.
No. 1 Cumberlands Powers Past Campbellsville, 13-6
The Patriots used a pair of big innings early to take control in a 13-6 victory over Campbellsville in the first elimination game.
Nolan Wilson earned the win, improving to 8-1 after tossing five innings while allowing three runs and striking out six.
JD Price closed out the final four innings for his second save of the season. Price pitched four innings and picked up five strikeouts.
Cumberlands answered an early Campbellsville run with a four-run second inning.
Pedro Vasquez sparked the rally with a two-run home run before
Justin Veloz and
Derick Andiarena each delivered RBI hits.
The Patriots broke the game open in the third, plating five runs on just one hit. UC capitalized on walks and hit-by-pitches before
Ronald Almanzar delivered a two-RBI single to extend the lead to 9-2.
Cumberlands added a run in the fourth on an RBI double from
Clay Shelton to make it 10-2.
Campbellsville chipped away with runs in the fifth and sixth, but the Patriots responded late. UC pushed across three more runs over the final two innings, highlighted by RBI hits from Veloz and a sacrifice fly from Shelton, to secure the 13-6 victory.
Veloz led the offense with three RBI, while Vasquez added two RBI and scored four runs in the win.
No. 1 Cumberlands Cruises Past Bethel, 12-2
The Patriots carried that momentum into the nightcap, using a balanced offensive attack to defeat Bethel 12-2.
Mason Howard earned the win in relief, improving to 2-1 after tossing seven innings while allowing two runs and striking out three.
Stuart Tharle started the game and threw two scoreless innings.
Cumberlands struck early, scoring four runs in the second inning. Veloz delivered a two-RBI single before Andiarena followed with a two-run double to give UC a 4-0 lead.
The Patriots added another run in the third before breaking the game open in the fourth. UC scored four runs in the frame, highlighted by RBI hits from
Ronald Almanzar,
Caden Petrey, and S. De La Cruz to extend the lead to 9-0.
Bethel responded with two runs in the fifth, but Cumberlands answered immediately. De La Cruz drove in two more runs in the sixth to push the lead to 11-2.
UC added one final run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Petrey to cap the 12-2 victory.
Cumberlands advances to the Mid-South Conference Championship where they will face #3 seed Cumberland University at 1 p.m. ET / noon CT. The Patriots will need to defeat the Phoenix twice to capture the tournament title.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit
www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram @UCPatriots, TikTok @ucpatriots, YouTube Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.
