LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland starts out Mid-South Conference play with two wins over Pikeville 5-3 and 13-3 at Woody Hunt Stadium on Thursday. 

Cumberland (8-4-1) had a strong pitching performance from Reid Madariaga in game one and the bats came alive for 13 runs in game two. Cole Turney did not reach base just one time all day going 5-for-6 with a home run and three RBI. The only time he did not reach Pikeville's Demarco Miller took a home run away from him. Dee Triplett went 3-for-4 in game two with a homer and three RBI. Tyner Hughes hit two home runs on the day, one in each game. 

Pikeville struck first in the second inning of game one, Noah Helton led off the inning with a double and came in on a sacrifice fly by Greg Lile,  but in the bottom of the inning Hughes blasted a home run to tie the game at 1-1. In the fifth inning, Pikeville's Lile hit a two-run homer, giving them a 3-1 lead, but Cumberland fought back in the top of the fifth with a single by Juan Moreno that drove in a run, followed by a single from Cole Turney that tied the game at 3-3.

Cumberland then took the lead in the sixth inning when Brandon Boxer hit a clutch pinch hit single that drove in pinch-runner Ian Krump. Boxer would come in to score on a wild pitch, giving Cumberland a 5-3 lead. 

Dillon Bland checked in on the hill in the seventh and shut the door picking up his second save of the season. 

Reid Madariaga threw a gem in game one tossing six full innings. He struck out eight in the game without allowing a walk. He gave up just three hits and three runs, but just two runs were earned. 

UPike started off game two strong jumping out to a 3-0 lead. In the second inning, the first run of the game came in on a wild pitch. Ryan Sartin then singled to right field, bringing in Miller and Lile to give UPike a 3-0 lead.

The Phoenix started to chip away at UPike's lead in the third inning when Santrel Farmer hit a home run to left field, making the score 3-1. Cumberland continued to score in the fourth inning when Juan Moreno beat out a double play ball, allowing Tim Holyk to score. Moreno then stole second in a first and third situation, the throw went through to second base allowing Xavier Torres to steal home to tie the game at 3-3.

Cumberland exploded in the fifth inning for 10 runs to bust the game wide open. Turney led off the inning with a home run to right field. Three batters later, De Triplett then hit a three-run home run to right field to extend Cumberland's lead to 7-3. Holyk went back-to-back with Triplett hitting a bomb over the centerfield wall. Reid Bass hit a pinch-hit RBI double down the left field line, bringing in Boxer and Torres to give Cumberland a 10-3 lead. Turney then doubled, bringing in Bass and making the score 11-3. Finally, Hughes hit a home run to right center, bringing in Turney and ending the game with a final score of 13-3 in favor of Cumberland.

Ethan Torres picked up the win in relief tossing 4.1 innings with five punchouts allowing one hit and two walks. Kaleb Vaughn tossed a scoreless seventh inning to close out the win. Reece Milam had the start throwing just 1.2 innings. Milam gave up three runs on five hits. 

The Phoenix and Bears will close out the series tomorrow with a single game at noon central tomorrow.