Cumberland enters NAIA baseball poll at No. 25

Mar. 25—Cumberland ranks 25th in this week's NAIA baseball coaches' poll, the first appearance this season for the Phoenix in the top 25, as announced Tuesday by the national office.

This is Cumberland's first appearance inside the top 25 since the 2018 season when the Phoenix were ranked No. 25 in the third poll of that season. The Phoenix saw time in the receiving votes category twice last year, but never cracked the top 25.

The Phoenix have started the season 18-5-1 and have one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Cumberland ranks second in the NAIA in home runs with 62, fourth in on-base percentage at .459, seventh in runs scored, ninth in runs batted in with 229, 10th in stolen bases, and 20th in team batting average at .326 as a squad.

Cumberland is led by slugger Cole Turney, who has put together quite the season which has not reached the halfway point. He is leading the NAIA in batting average, .064 higher than second, at .583, leads the nation in home runs at 17 and is tied for an NAIA-best 46 RBI. He also leads the nation in on-base percentage, and slugging percentage and is leading the Mid-South Conference in walks.

Newcomer this season Dee Triplett is also swinging a hot bat with a .368 batting average, seven homers and 32 runs batted in. Tyner Hughes is beginning to come around to the numbers he produced last season hitting .316 with nine home runs and 23 runs batted in. Tim Holyk has blasted eight homers and Xavier Torres and Juan Moreno have continued to get on base all year hitting .382 and .377. Santrel Farmer is leading the Mid-South Conference in stolen bases with 20, putting him at 12th in the NAIA.

The Cumberland pitching staff has progressed throughout the season lowering the team ERA to 6.74. Reid Madariaga has a 4-1 record on the mound, and Ethan Torres is now 3-0 through 22.1 innings with a 1.67 ERA. Dillon Bland has notched three saves on the back end of the bullpen for Cumberland.

The top five teams in the rankings — Southeastern (Fla.), Tennessee Wesleyan, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), LSU Shreveport (La.) and Georgia Gwinnett — have all been consistent contenders throughout the season.

Phoenix power past No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan

Cumberland cranked five home runs in a 9-5 win over the No. 2-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs on Tuesday at Woody Hunt Stadium/Ernest L. Stockton Field.

This was the Phoenix's first win over Wesleyan since 2016 and came one day shy of a month since a 26-4 shellacking to the Bulldogs in Athens.

Cumberland (18-5-1) continued to hit the ball well, collecting 11 hits with five long balls. The Phoenix now have the second most home runs in the NAIA with 62.

Dee Triplett had a day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Cole Turney added to his nation-leading home-run total with two more in the game, giving him 17.

The Phoenix jumped on the board first after Triplett ripped a single to left-center driving in Santrel Farmer from second. Cumberland added two more runs in the second inning when Juan Moreno sent an RBI triple to the left-center wall and was later brought in on a wild pitch, giving the Phoenix a 3-0 lead.

Cumberland continued to stretch the lead in the third inning with back-to-back home runs by Turney and Triplett to go up 5-0 over the Bulldogs.

Tennessee Wesleyan found itself with bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the fourth to give the Phoenix their first real scare. Junior right-hander Ryan Calvert was able to work himself out of the jam while only surrendering one run in the inning.

Juan Moreno helped the Phoenix get their run back in a hurry with a two-out solo home run that cleared the left-center field wall for a 6-1 lead after four.

Turney stepped into the box in the fifth inning and showed his opposite-field power, blasting his second home run of the day. The damage was not done in the inning as Tim Holyk hit a two-run home run for Cumberland's fifth homer of the game, stretching their lead to 9-1.

Calvert cruised through the sixth inning but was forced out of the game in the seventh inning on an RBI single to center field from the Bulldogs. Dillon Bland came on to pitch next for the Phoenix and gave up a three-run homer to the first batter he faced. He was able to recover from the long ball and get out of the inning with a 9-5 Cumberland lead.

Tennessee Wesleyan could not get anything else going the rest of the way as Bland shut them down in the eighth and Ethan Torres closed the door in the ninth.

Cumberland will be back in action Saturday as the Phoenix take on Bethel in a Mid-South Conference doubleheader. Friday's scheduled single game has been moved to Sunday due to the weather forecast.