Baseball Drops Road Contest to No. 8 Cumberlands

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - The Lindsey Wilson baseball team fell 10-0 in seven innings to No. 8 Cumberlands (Ky.) on Tuesday. The Patriots offense was difficult to contain as Cumberlands (20-3, 1-2 Mid-South Conference) hit three home runs in just the first four innings.

Austin Rayno came close to getting the Blue Raiders (8-11, 5-4 MSC) on the board first in the opening frame with a deep hit to left field that was one foot short of clearing the wall.

However, the Patriots' Over Torres was successful in lifting his ball over the left field fence as his two-run home run gave Cumberlands a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Both offenses fell dormant over the next two innings before the Patriots flexed their muscles in the bottom of the fourth. Two blasts, one by Rolando Rodriguez and another from Bryan Leef, propelled Cumberlands to a 7-0 lead.

The Patriots tacked on another run in the fifth when Ray Villanueva led off with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Candido Encarnacion.

Additional trouble arose in the bottom of the seventh when the Patriots strung together a double, a single, and a walk to load the bases with one out. Mason Sawyer continued the inning with a sac fly for a 9-0 advantage. A dropped fly ball in left field scored a 10th run for Cumberlands and ended the contest due to the mercy rule.

After three hits over the first four innings, two of which were recorded by Nico Martinez, Lindsey Wilson's bats struggled to get going throughout the rest of the game, as the Patriots' starting pitcher Walter Hernandez prevented the Blue Raiders from reaching base over the final three frames and fanned ten batters in his seven innings pitched.

Hernandez (3-0) received the win for his complete game shutout. Brandon Wilson (0-3) was saddled with the loss.

Martinez was the top bat in the order on the day with a 2-for-3 line which includes a double.

The three hits for Lindsey Wilson were a single-game season low for the squad with the most hits per game in the MSC (9.9).

The Blue Raiders return to the diamond for a three-game series against Campbellsville (Ky.) at Egnew Park beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.