Blue Raiders Rally to Beat Cumberland 6-5

The Blue Raiders got heroics in the bottom of the ninth with hits from Brandon Johnson and Kris Lammers to plate the winning runs in a 6-5 win over Cumberland.

The Blue Raiders (32-9) jumped out to a 2-0 edge in the bottom of the second inning. Chuck Akers drove in the first run of the inning with a double down the right field line to plate Jason Howarth. Lammers finished the job with an RBI groundout that brought Johnson, who had singled earlier in the inning, across to score.

The Bulldogs (41-15) rallied in the fifth. An error allowed Eric Hatzell to reach first with two outs and Asbed Avedikian blasted a homer over the left field wall off of reliever Steven Kines to even the score.

Nic Stone homered in the bottom of the fifth, but Cumberland grabbed the lead in the top of the sixth.

A single and a walk chased Kines from the game and Jason Kuhn struggled to control the Bulldog lineup early on. Two singles and a double off of the right-hander brought in three runs and gave the visitors a 5-3 advantage.

An error allowed Nic Stone to reach first and advance to second. Josh Renick advanced Stone to third with a fly ball where he later scored on a Marshall Nisbett ground out, cutting the lead to 5-4.

Things looked bleak for the Blue Raiders heading to the ninth, but MT pulled off magic again. Kyle Thomas led off with a walk and pinch runner Kris Smith was moved to second on a Howarth sacrifice bunt. Johnson then singled to right to bring Smith in with the tying run.

Johnson moved to second on an Akers ground out, bringing Lammers to the plate with two outs. Lefty Matt McWilliams relieved Cumberland starter Efren Canchola with Lammers, a left-handed hitter, coming to bat. Lammers delivered a single up the middle to bring in Johnson for the win.

The hit marked on the second time in 16 tries that Lammers had gotten a hit against a fellow portsider.

Jeremy Armstrong, who hurled the final two frames, earned the win to move to 1-0. Steve Kline, in his first collegiate start, pitched four innings of no-hit ball in the no-decision.

The win gives the Blue Raiders some momentum heading into the weekend's huge Sun Belt series against New Mexico State. Dewon Brazelton is expected to kick off the series on Friday night beginning at 7 PM.

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