No. 2 Baseball Drops Contest to No. 11 Cumberlands

Athens, Tenn.- The baseball team, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, was back in Athens Insurance Stadium on Tuesday for a ranked showdown. The team hosted the No. 11 ranked University of the Cumberlands Patriots. 

After closing out the top of the first with a double play, the offense did some work. Carson Ford started with a single, getting to second on a stolen base and to third on a wild pitch. A fielder's choice on Marco Martinez's at-bat brought Ford across home plate, giving the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead.  

The momentum changed over the course of the next few innings as the opponents took the lead with a four-run third inning. The hole grew keeper for TWU as Cumberlands added another four runs in the fifth inning, making the score 8-1. Two more runs in the sixth inning gave the opponens a 10-1 lead. 

The team got three of the runs back in the seventh inning. A single by Cody McGill and wild pitch got hime to second base. After a Martinez walk, a Parker Stinnett ground out moved each runner a base, allowing McGill to score on Braxton Turner's single. Another walk, this time on Evan Magill's at-bat, loaded the bases, and Preston Welchel brought Martinez home with his walk. The third run came on an Andre Tarver sacrifice fly as courtesy runner Aidin McClary scored, making the score 10-4. The team was not able to score the runs needed to extend the game, going on to fall by the six-run margin. 

Carter Gannaway led on the mound with four strikeouts. Martinez, Turner, Welchel, and Tarver all finished with RBIs in the game. 

The schedule sees the Bulldogs (25-6) go on the road for their next eight games, starting with an conference series against Bluefield on Friday. The first game is set to begin at 5:00 p.m.