Cumberlands Wins MSC Baseball Tournament on Leef’s Walk-Off Home Run

Baseball | Sun, May 9, 2021 at 10:20 PM

Tournament Homepage | Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Cumberlands captured the Mid-South Conference Baseball tournament championship 11-10 against Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) on Bryan Leef’s walk-off home run in the ninth inning Sunday.

The Patriots (46-6) win their second tournament title and first since 2017. With the victory, Cumberlands earns one of the MSC’s automatic bid into the NAIA Baseball Tournament Opening Round May 17-20 at host sites across the NAIA. As the runner-up, Freed-Hardeman (26-23) secures the conference’s second automatic bid.

Leef led the way for the Patriots with three home runs and six RBIs. Pedro Nazario hit two home runs and drove in four. Chipper Korbacher picked up the win for Cumberlands pitching allowing just one hit and recorded four strikeouts.

Cumberlands trailed 8-1 heading into the bottom of the third inning. Kevin Rolon reached on a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Following a walk, Bryan Leef homered to left-center field to cut the deficit to 8-4.

Nazario led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to trim the Lions lead to 8-5. Later in the inning Ray Villanueva drove in a run to make it 8-6. Leef then hit his second home run of the game to tie it 8-8.

After a strikeout and a walk to begin the bottom of the fifth, Nazario gave Cumberlands its first lead of the game at 10-8 with his second home run of the game.

The Lions would respond in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Three-straight singles to begin the inning loaded the bases before Dom Piasno drove in a run to make it 10-9. Christian Busby hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game 10-10.

Neither team was able to get much going offensively in the seventh and eighth innings. Freed-Hardeman was retired in order in the top of the ninth. Following a groundout to begin the bottom of the ninth, Leef stepped up to plate. Down 0-2 in the count, Leef connected on the next pitch and sent it over the left field wall to give the Patriots the victory.

Beau Simpson led Freed-Hardeman going 4-for-5 and driving in a pair of runs. Will McCall recorded three hits while driving in three runs. Piasno also recorded three RBIs in the game.