Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – In what was a pitcher's duel, the King University baseball dropped a close contest to the 25th-ranked team in the country on Tuesday afternoon. Tusculum College held a narrow 1-0 lead throughout the contest until the ninth inning when the scored 10 runs. The Tornado answered with three in the bottom of the inning, but the Pioneers took the contest 11-3.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Tusculum 11, King 3
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 12-21; Mars Hill 23-8
TIME OF GAME: 2:19
King Starting Lineup
1. Nicolas Keister – RF
2. Mark Hencken – DH
3. Ryan Whitt – LF
4. Ryan Sattz – 1B
5. Austin Dayton – 3B
6. Preston Douglas – RF
7. Braden Cook – 2B
8. Anthony Hunt – C
9. Joe Ganger – SS
Starting Pitcher: RHP Mark Michael
Tusculum Starting Lineup
1. Jeremy Glore – CF
2. Jeovanny Tolentino – SS
3. Creighton Wilke – 1B
4. Kevin Victoriano – RF
5. Nick Lacina – DH
6. Zach Lippincott – C
7. John Topoleski – 3B
8. Jordan Huntley – 3B
9. Zack Finchum – 2B
Starting Pitcher: LHP Zach Slagle
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Michael earned the start and tossed four solid innings, only giving up one run on three hits.
- Sattz ripped his fifth home run of the season in the ninth inning, a three-run shot.
- Whitt and Sattz both recorded two hits on the day for King.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- King threatened with a pair of runners in the first inning, but Slagle got out of the jam with a groundout.
- Victoriano got the Pioneers on the board in the second inning when he led off the frame with a home run.
- The pitching then settled in for both teams, only allowing three total hits over the next six innings as the game moved to the ninth inning.
- Tusculum broke the game open in the ninth, scoring 10 runs on eight hits. Dante Key drove in a pair with a single, Finchum plated two with a triple and Wilke scored a pair with a double, giving Tusculum an 11-0 lead.
- In the bottom of the ninth, Sattz laced a three-run home run to get King on the board, but that was all the Tornado could get, falling 11-3.
FOR THE FOES
- Wilke and Topoleski led the Pioneers with three hits each.
- Wilke scored twice and drove in two while Topoleski drove in a pair and scored once.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Slagle (5-1) 9.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Michael (0-3) 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
UP NEXT
- The Tornado are scheduled to return to the diamond on Friday when they host Emmanuel in the first game of their three game Conference Carolinas series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.
- Tusculum hosts Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday.
