BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team opened Conference Carolinas play in what was an eventful doubleheader against Barton College on Saturday. The Bulldogs started game one with a seven run inning. The Tornado nearly worked their back to even, but a pair of late inning runs gave Barton the 9-6 win. King bounced back in game two behind a solid outing from starting pitcher Matt Jackson, taking the contest 7-2.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Barton 9, King 6; King 7, Barton 2
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 5-6, 1-1 Conference Carolinas; Barton 9-2, 1-1 Conference Carolinas

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Ryan Whitt collected four hits on the day, going 2-for-4 in the opening game before going 2-for-3 with three runs scored in the night cap.
• Nicolas Keister went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot in game one before going 1-for-4 in game two.
• Mark Hencken added three hits, scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs on the day.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Barton offense started out hot, lacing seven hits in the top of the first, amounting in seven runs. Andrew Webster registered the big hit, a three-run home run that got the Bulldogs on the board.
• Keister tried to get the King offense going with a leadoff triple in the bottom half of the first. He then scored on a Hencken sacrifice fly.
• Mark Hendricks kept the Tornado in the contests after he entered in the second inning. He threw up six straight zeros as the King offense chipped away at their deficit.
• Dylan Sligh struck with a two-run home run in the second inning, scoring Austin Dayton who doubled earlier in the frame.
• King tacked on one run in the fifth, and Keister drove in Dayton with a double in the sixth, pulling King within 7-5 after six.
• The top of the seventh was quick as Hendricks only need four pitches to get three outs and bring the Tornado back to the plate.
• Dayton drew a bases loaded hit by pitch, cutting the King deficit to 7-6. However, the Bulldogs then got a double play to escape the bases loaded jam and hold the lead.
• Barton then tallied a pair of runs in the eighth, the second on a suicide squeeze to take a 9-6 lead.
• King couldn't respond in the final two innings as the Bulldogs took the game 9-6.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Trent Fennell (2-1) 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Save: Troy Maslowski (3) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
Losing Pitcher: Gus Gill (2-2) 1.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• Whitt sparked the offense with a two-out single in the bottom of the first inning. He moved to second on an error and scored on a Josh Stephens single up the middle, giving King the early lead.
• Barton evened the score in the third when Tyler Garrett started a two-out rally with a single to left center. He later scored on a Hunter Pearre single to right field, evening the tally.
• However, King responded in the bottom of the inning when Keister started the frame with a double. He later scored on a wild pitch before Ryan Sattz turned in a stellar at bat. On the seventh pitch of the at bat, Sattz place a single up the middle that scored two and gave King a 4-1 lead.
• The Bulldogs registered one run on a Shawn Montren double in the fourth that scored Blake Spangenberg.
• King put the game out of reach in the sixth, plating three runs. Hencken drove in Joe Ganger with a single before Whitt and Hencken scored on a dropped fly ball, giving King a 7-2 lead.
• Nathan Helke had to work around a two-out double in the seventh, but he got the final out, giving King the 7-2 win.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Jackson (2-0) 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Save: Helke (3) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Dylan Ward (2-1) 5.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Spangenberg registered three hits in game one while Webster drove in three. Spangenberg added a hit and scored once in the nightcap.
• Pearre registered three hits on the day while Hawke drove in two in the first game and went 2-for-3 in game two.

UP NEXT

• The rubber match in the three game set is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at the King Baseball Field.