Cougars Rally from Game 1 Loss to Dominate Bulldogs 21-13 in High-Scoring Affair

(Barboursville, KY) -- The Cleary Cougars Baseball team took a trip down south to Barboursville, Kentucky this weekend. They kicked off a four-game weekend series with the Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs

In Game 1: The Cougars looked to get on to a hot start with Gavin Kempainen and Brendan Seman reaching base on back-to-back singles with no outs. The Cougar threat was immediately shut down, and no runs were scored. The Bulldogs took the momentum shift and instantly put it to use scoring four runs in the bottom half of the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. With runners on first and second, Gavin Kempainen would get a run back for the Cougars with an RBI single in the second. The Bulldogs once again responded with a leadoff solo homerun to start the bottom half of the inning and bring their lead to 5-1 over the Cougars. The Cougars looked to gain one run back in the fourth when Brendan Seman hit a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Austin Vincent from third base. In the sixth inning, Brendan Seman would lead things off with a bunt single that was followed by a Joey Parinello single advancing him to third. Brodie Mackay would follow it up with an RBI single. Conner Boone joined in on the action with an RBI single himself and got the Cougars within a run making it 5-4. The Bulldogs got one back however in the bottom half of the inning and would go on to take the victory over Cleary with a final score of 6-4. 

Hector Montilla (0-2)  would get the start for the Cougars on the mound. Nolan Green would make his Cleary debut in this game on the mound with a final stat line of 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0ER), and 0 BB. Gavin Kempainen finished with four hits and an RBI in the game as well. 

In Game 2: The Cougar offense would take the Game 1 loss personally and explode on offense. They jumped out to an early 8-3 lead after two innings of play highlighted by a Brendan Seman RBI single and Brodie Mackay's grand slam. Cleary added four more runs in the fourth with a double from Brice Wesley, a single from Brodie Mackay, and Hector Montilla double. Union Commonwealth added five runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning with the score 12-8 after three innings of play. The Cougars added two more in the fourth when Brendan Seman singled to centerfield scoring Austin Vincent and Gavin Kempainen. Hector Montilla homered in the fifth inning to increase the lead even further to 15-8. The Cougars kept adding more in the fifth inning when Brendan Seman doubled to left field scoring two more runs. He later scored when Joey Parinello hit a sacrifice fly two batters later. Braylon Hughes joined in on the action in the seventh inning when he tripled to left field and scored two more runs. Austin Santure would pinch hit immediately after and single to left field to score Braylon Hughes. Union Commonwealth pushed for a comeback late in the game with two runs in both the sixth and seventh inning but it was not enough as the Cougars walked away with a 21-13 victory. 

Will Roberts (2-1) got the start and win on the mound for the Cougars. Brendan Seman would go 3-4 with 5 RBIs at the plate. The 21 runs scored are the second most in program history behind a 23-9 victory that took place over Siena Heights University on April 19, 2017. 

The Cougars are now 5-5 on the season and will conclude their series with the Bulldogs tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12:00 PM.