BEREA, KY- The Mountaineer baseball squad was back in action on Tuesday night against NAIA Mid-South Conference powerhouse University of the Cumberlands Patriots and lost by a score of 7-5.
The Mountaineers threw seven different pitchers in their losing effort to the Patriots, but had a few shining stars on both sides of the ball. First, for the offense, Dallas Adkins and Chase O'Connor had easily their best games of the year, with Adkins going 2-3 with a run scored, and O'Connor going 3-4 with a triple, double, and four RBI's. O'Connor's bases clearing triple was just short of an inside the park grand slam, as he was thrown out going home in the fifth inning-nevertheless, tying the game.
The pitching had their hands full in this game, as they took on the heavy hitting offense of UC. The Patriots were very patient at the plate, taking advantage of the Mountaineers inability to find the strike zone, and ended up walking 11 times. Cord Glass started the game and went two innings, giving up one run, and was relieved by Griffen Norris. Norris threw a scoreless third inning, and Nate Metz escaped with no earned runs in the fourth. Zach Roberson ran into a little bit of trouble in the fifth inning, allowing three runs off three hits and two walks. After the Mountaineers tied the game at 5 with O'Connor's triple, Nolan Sanders threw a solid two innings, only giving up one run. Logan Hunt walked three batters in the 8th, and was relieved by Chris Works, who tossed a scoreless 1.2 innings, and gave the Mountaineers a chance, only down 7-5 in the ninth inning. Berea was unable to overcome the two run deficit in the final inning, and ultimately lost by two to their opponents from Williamsburg.
The Mountaineers head to Cincinnati this weekend to take on the UC Clermont Cougars at their field in Batavia. The first game begins at 2:00pm on Saturday, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday.