PIKEVILLE, Ky. – For the first time since 2016, the University of Pikeville tallied four straight wins against a Mid-South Conference opponent as it finished a sweep of Cumberland (Tenn.) with a 2-0 and 5-4 win on Saturday.
UPIKE moves to 22-14 overall and 6-8 in the MSC, while the Phoenix drop to 28-17 overall and 6-12 in the league.
Prior to the game, UPIKE honored former coach and administrator Paul E. Butcher, who its field is named for, with the unveiling of a plaque in his honor attached to the home dugout.
Up next the Bears will hit the road for a doubleheader at West Virginia Tech on Monday.
GAME ONE – UPIKE 2, (RV) Cumberland 0
Hannah Skaggs shut down Cumberland in the opener, throwing a complete-game shutout with just three hits allowed. The defense stepped up behind her as she finished with just one strikeout.
Chandler Kelly drove in the first run with a first inning groundout and UPIKE didn't score again until Kitty Raymond roped an RBI single to center in the bottom of the sixth.
Morgan Arndt took the loss for Cumberland with four hits and one run allowed over five innings. She finished with just one strikeout as well.
Jordan Gentry led UPIKE at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. Haley Osborne also hit a double in a pinch-hit performance. UPIKE outhit the Phoenix 6-3 overall.
GAME TWO – UPIKE 5, (RV) Cumberland 4
The lead changed hands four times over a four-inning span before the Bears ultimately defeated Cumberland 5-4.
UPIKE went from a 2-0 lead through three innings, to trailing 3-2 after the top of the fourth when Courtney Miles hit a 3-run home run.
The Bears knotted it back up at 3-3 in the bottom of the frame before watching the Phoenix take a 4-3 lead in the fifth on an RBI double.
A fifth-inning rally ended up winning the game for UPIKE as Kelly hit a triple to score Kitty Raymond who had led off the frame with a walk. With the score tied once again, Kelsey White hit a single to right in the next at bat to put the Bears up for good.
Megan Claypoole got the win in the circle, allowing four runs on five hits over five innings of work with five strikeouts. Skaggs came back in to pitch in the sixth and secured her first save of the season.
Kaitlin Kralj took the loss in relief for Cumberland after allowing three hits and two runs over two innings with a walk.
UPIKE outhit the Phoenix 12-7 behind a 3-for-4 showing by Lee Collier and Kelly and White finishing with two hits each. Claypoole and Gentry added doubles in the win as well.
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