Phoenix Punch Their Ticket in 10-Inning Thriller

Photo / Mid-South Conference

By David Oglesby

Cumberland punched its ticket to the Mid-South Conference Baseball Tournament Championship game with a dramatic, extra-innings 10–8 win over Bethel at Bowling Green Ballpark.

For five scoreless innings, it was mostly silence that looked like it might last forever. Then Bethel struck in the third. Three straight hits turned into a RBI single from Adriel Vega and an RBI double from Juan Diego Ramos, and suddenly the Wildcats were up 2–0. Bethel made it hurt worse in the fifth, turning Cumberland’s mistakes into momentum: miscues, a run-scoring single from Cade Pilkinton, and a 4–0 lead that felt like a door closing.

Cumberland didn’t slam it back open. It pushed, step by step, until the sixth. LaRue doubled to start the frame, and Caleb Royer—designated hitter, but carrying a pitcher’s authority—launched a two-run home run to right. It was 4–2 now, and the Phoenix finally had air.

Bethel added a run in the bottom half, setting the score at 5–2. But the seventh inning was where the story turned. Yuito Suzuki and Camden Williamson reached base. LaRue drove in a run with a groundout. McDonald answered with an RBI single to pull Cumberland within one. Then an intentional walk brought Wilser Then to the plate, and Royer took one more swing—three-run power to right-center that capped a five-run inning and gave Cumberland a 7–5 lead.

Bethel came roaring back in the ninth, tying the game with three runs—first a two-run double from Pilkinton, then a sacrifice fly from Garrett Taylor.

Extras arrived, and so did courage. Suzuki sparked it again with a leadoff walk, Williamson moved him along, the bases filled, and Then delivered: a two-run single to right that scored Suzuki and Hurt. Cumberland led 10–8.

Kyle Nyblod struck out the side, and when it was over, Cumberland didn’t just win. It punched its ticket—heading to the Mid-South Conference Championship game at noon on Saturday.