Top-Seeded Cumberlands Advances to MSC Baseball Championship With 8-2 Win Over Freed-Hardeman

Baseball | Sat, May 8, 2021 at 3:10 PM

Tournament Homepage | Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Top-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.) defeated No. 2 seed Freed-Hardeman 8-2 in the winner’s bracket final Saturday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

With the victory, the Patriots (42-6) advance to Sunday’s MSC Baseball Tournament championship at 10 a.m. CT.

Cumberlands totaled 13 hits in the victory with five players recording multiple hits. Jose Rojas and Rolando Rodriguez each drove in a pair of runs while Bryan Leef and Ray Villanueva each hit a home run. Jake Kampen picked up the win for Cumberlands pitching 2-2/3 innings giving up two hits with no runs and striking out four.

After the first two Lions (25-22) were struck out in the top of the first, Josh Sears double to right center. Beau Simpson then singled moving Sears to third before Von Watson hit an RBI- single to give Freed-Hardeman a 1-0 lead.

With two outs in the third, a walk and a stolen base put a runner in scoring position for the Lions. Watson then recorded his second RBI of the game with a double to right center to give Freed-Hardeman a 2-0 lead.

Cumberlands took control of the game in the fifth inning scoring five runs on six hits. With one out, Villanueva hit a home run over the left field fence to make it a 2-1 game. Three-straight singles then loaded the bases for the Patriots. Cumberlands tied the game on an RBI by Candido Encarnacion. Garcia then gave the Patriots a 3-2 lead with an RBI-single up the middle. Rolando Rodriguez increased the Cumberlands lead to 5-2 with a two-RBI single.

Villanueva led off the bottom of the sixth with a single then advanced to second on a ground out. After an error put runners on second and third, Rojas drove in a pair with a single to give the Patriots a 7-2 lead. Leef increased the Cumberlands lead to 8-2 with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.

Freed-Hardeman will face the winner of the Gerogetown/Thomas More game tonight at 6 p.m. CT in the consolation bracket final.