WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – After losing a 10-run marathon 2-1 in the opener, the University of Pikeville softball team bounced back in a big way, topping Cumberlands 14-5 in five innings in the nightcap on the road Wednesday.

With the split, the Bears move to 23-15 overall and 7-9 in Mid-South Conference play, while the Patriots are now 14-26 overall and 7-13 in league play.

The teams finish their regular-season series with two wins each. The games in Pikeville on April 10 ended in the same fashion with Cumberlands winning game one in 10 innings, followed by UPIKE securing a run-rule decision.

Jordan Gentry, the MSC Player of the Week, stayed hot, hitting a combined 4-for-6 with a double, three walks, three runs scored and two RBIs. Chandler Kelly drove in three runs and hit a pair of doubles, while Jadyn Gibson had one of her best outputs of the season in game two, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, three runs scored and a double.

Hannah Skaggs threw all 9.2 innings in the opening loss, allowing just one earned run on eight hits with three strikeouts. It took going to the international tie-breaker where a runner starts the inning already on second base to finally beat her.

Megan Claypoole got the complete-game win in game two as she allowed five runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts. The Patriots tallied four of the hits and two of the runs in the fifth inning.

UPIKE took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one on a sac fly by Chandler Kelly and failed to score again. The Patriots tied the game in the third inning, then after six empty frames, finally used a sac bunt and single by Emily Fox in the bottom of the 10th to win it.

The Bears had gotten Kelly to third with one out in the top of the 10th but popped out and grounded out to end the threat.

Both teams scored three runs in the second inning of the nightcap and it was still 3-3 heading into the top of the fourth. That was when UPIKE would score five runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth to bring the game to an early end.

The fourth should've ended with just one Pikeville run scoring, but two errors extended the inning, leading to a three-run double by Kitty Raymond and RBI double by Kelly in the next at bat breaking things open. Gentry added a two-run double in the fifth and the rout was on.

Cumberlands gave a strong effort to extend the game in the bottom of the fifth as it scored two runs on four hits, but with runners on first and second and no outs, the Patriots ended their side with three straight flyouts.

GAME ONE – Cumberlands 2, UPIKE 1 (10 inn.)

Emme Barker: 1-2, 2B

Jordan Gentry: 2-3, BB, R

Kitty Raymond: 2-5

Chandler Kelly: 0-4, RBI

Hannah Skaggs: L 9.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 3 K

GAME TWO – UPIKE 14, Cumberlands 5 (5 inn.)

Kelsey White: 1-4, RBI. 3B

Jordan Gentry: 2-3, 2 RBIs, 2 BB, 2 R, 2B

Kitty Raymond: 1-4, 3 RBIs, R

Jadyn Gibson: 2-3, RBI, 3 R, 2B

Chandler Kelly: 2-4, 2 RBIs, R, 2 2B

Megan Claypoole: W, 5.0 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 4 K, 3 BB

UP NEXT

UPIKE hosts No. 9 Lindsey Wilson for the first two of a four-game series at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday at Paul Butcher Field.

-UPIKE-