BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University softball team finished their home schedule with a nonconference doubleheader against regional rival Tusculum College. The Tornado took game one 4-1 behind a home run from Hannah Smith while the Pioneers used a solid pitching performance to take game two 6-1.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 4, Tusculum 1; Tusculum 6, King 1
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 17-27; Tusculum 19-29

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Smith led the offense, hitting one home run in each game, including a two-run home run in game one.
• Jennifer Kern drove in a pair in game one, going 2-for-3 in the contest.
• Lauren Rowsey recorded a pair hits in the nightcap for the Tornado.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• Tusculum grabbed the lead in the top of the first inning, when Jordan Keene drove in one when she hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded.
• A walk loaded the bases again, but King pitcher Hayley Smothers induced a groundball to get the final out and keep the score at 1-0 Pioneers.
• The Tornado threatened with a pair of runners in the bottom of the first, but couldn't push any runs across.
• Tusculum threatened again in the fourth with a pair of runners, but Smothers got out of the jam, and the Tornado offense gave her some support in the bottom of the inning.
• Olivia Lawson was hit by a pitch to start the frame, and Smith followed with a home run to left field, giving King a 2-1 lead.
• Alliyah Sands walked and Smothers single to start a rally for the Tornado later in the inning. With two outs, Kern rolled a single up the middle that scored two, giving King a 4-1 advantage.
• The score remained the same the rest of the way as Smothers only allowed two hits over the final three innings, giving the Tornado the 4-1 win.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Smothers (10-12) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Taylor Plemons (2-9) 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• In the nightcap, it was one bad inning for the Tornado that proved to be the difference. King made a pair of miscues in the second inning, and the Pioneers capitalized with six runs on five hits.
• Bailey Culler and Carolyn Williamson both came up with extra base hits that score two. Culler ripped a two-run double and Williamson drove in two with a triple before scoring on a Miranda Beeler single to give Tusculum a 6-0 lead.
• King tried to get on the board in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runners, but couldn't get a hit to drive one in.
• Smith got King on the board in the sixth when she ripped her seventh home run of the season, this one to left field to lead off the inning.
• King the loaded the bases following a two-out single from Rowsey, but the Tornado couldn't come up with the key hit as the only scored the one run.
• The Tornado threatened again in the seventh with a pair of runners, but that was all Cayla Cecil, the Tusculum pitcher allowed, giving the Pioneers the 6-1 win.
• Cecil did a good job working out of jams all day as she stranded 10 Tornado base runners in the contest.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Cecil (8-6) 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Lauren Smith (6-9) 4.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Robin Stoner and Morgan Ward both went 2-for-3 to lead the Pioneers in game one with Keene driving in Tusculum's lone run.
• In game two it was Williamson and Culler that drove in two apiece while all seven Pioneer hits came from different players.

UP NEXT

• King finishes the regular season on Saturday when they travel to take on North Greenville University. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
• The Pioneers take on Carson-Newman University on Wednesday.