PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Defending national champion Cumberland (Tenn.) outhit the University of Pikeville baseball team a combined 24-13 to make up for seven errors as it won 12-3 and 7-5 in a Mid-South Conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at Johnnie LeMaster Field.
UPIKE (12-18, 0-11 MSC) wasn't without its chances, trailing just 3-2 in the seventh inning of game one and cutting the deficit to two in the final inning of game two, but the Bulldogs (11-21, 6-5 MSC) were good enough to hold on.
Getting a performance like right fielder Ryan Dickison's helps as he went 6 for 9 on the day with two home runs, both hit in the opener, and two doubles with four RBIs.
Josh Bailey, who also started at pitcher in game one for UPIKE, paced the Bears at the plate with three hits, two walks and two runs scored.
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Cumberland 12, UPIKE 3
It didn't take long for Cumberland to grab a 1-0 lead as Hector Viera roped a double to right center and came home on Justin Byrd's single past first base. Byrd eventually came home in the inning as well when right fielder Ryan Dickison put the first ball into left field for a base hit.
Two scoreless frames followed until Dickison struck again, this time hitting a deep home run to left field to make it a 3-0 game.
The bottom of the sixth was kind to the Bears as shortstop Jacob DiThomas led off with a walk and pitcher Josh Bailey singled two batters later. Helping matters, the Bulldogs committed three throwing errors, allowing DiThomas and Bailey to come home and get UPIKE within a run.
Not to be undone by the mistakes, Cumberland responded in the top of the seventh, at one point hitting three straight doubles to push ahead 6-2. It got worse from there as the red-hot Dickison hit his second home run of the game to put Cumberland up by six with just one out.
Reliever J.P. Henderlight eventually got the Bears out of the inning with only one more run coming home.
UPIKE got close to starting a rally in the seventh with the bases loaded, but ultimately nothing scored from it. Cumberland added a single run in the eighth and two more in the second to register the comfortable 12-3 win.
The Bears' last run came in the bottom of the ninth when second baseman Patrick Schloss hustled home on centerfielder Scottie Whitaker's groundout.
Stevie Smith took the win (3-3) after scattering six hits for two unearned runs in eight innings, while Josh Bailey was stuck with the loss after allowing seven runs on nine hits with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
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Cumberland 7, UPIKE 5
Game two didn't feature any huge innings for Cumberland, instead it slowly built a 7-0 lead over the first four frames.
It started with two runs in both the second and third innings for the Bulldogs before adding three more in the top of the fourth. Ryan Simmons drove in the first run with a bunt, while Dickison came home from third on a balk by UPIKE starter James Brooks.
Cumberland's two runs in the third were scored on a fielder's choice hit by shortstop Hector Viera and sacrifice fly from Byrd. The Bulldogs added three more runs on three hits in the fourth, including another sacrifice fly by Byrd.
Trailing 7-0, UPIKE finally got something rolling in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on four hits and the help of one Bulldog error. Right fielder Connor Osborne ended the scoring drought with an RB I single, then second baseman Patrick Schloss and DiThomas added RBI singles later in the inning.
Two scoreless frames followed for the Bears and Bulldogs until UPIKE made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh. With DiThomas on base after being hit and Bailey hitting a single to right, first baseman Nicolas Gonzales belted a two-run double to left.
Now a 7-5 contest, Cumberland went to the pen for Curtis Hoppe who earned the save after striking out Chagnon and getting third baseman Erik Manning to fly out to center.
Jake Collier earned the win after 6 1/3 innings of work, allowing five runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and four walks. Starter James Brooks took the loss after scattering six hits for seven runs with two strikeouts and three free passes.
UPIKE and Cumberland play the final game of the series at Noon ET on Friday.
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