BANNER ELK, N.C. – Following a day where the King University softball team split a road doubleheader, the Tornado bounced back with a Conference Carolinas sweep on Wednesday afternoon. King got a pair of complete game performances in the circle from Hayley Smothers and Lauren Smith to defeat Lees-McRae College 5-2 and 3-1.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 5, Lees-McRae 2; King 3, Lees-McRae 1
LOCATION: LMC Softball Field; Banner Elk, N.C.
RECORDS: King 13-23, 7-7 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 6-26, 2-8 Conference Carolinas

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Hannah Devotie paced the King offense in both games, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored in game one and 3-for-4 in the nightcap.
• Alliyah Sands and Smothers both registered two hits in the opening contest.
• In the nightcap, Amber Walker went 2-for-3 and ripped her first home run of the season to give King the lead.
• Kay Brokering laced her first career home run for the Tornado in the second contest.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• Devotie singled and stole second in the top of the first before scoring on a Hannah Smith double to put King on top.
• The Tornado looked for more in the second inning, loading the bases and Olivia Lawson drove in one with a walk. However, that was all the Tornado would get, stretching their lead to 2-0.
• King threatened nearly every inning and finally broke through again with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Morgan Lowe drove in one with a sacrifice fly and Sands gave King a 4-0 lead with a single that scored Lawson.
• The Bobcats scored two on a Sarah Tucker home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut into the King lead.
• King added an insurance run in the seventh inning before Lees-McRae manufactured one in the bottom of the inning.
• However, that was all the Bobcats would get off of Smothers as she got the final out to give King the 5-3 win.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Smothers (7-11) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Charlie Dutton (1-10) 7.0 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Tornado threatened with a pair of runners in the second inning, but couldn't push any across in game two.
• Lees-McRae also had a pair of runners in the second inning, but Lauren Smith got out of the jam.
• King got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Walker led off the inning with a home run.
• After an out, Brokering laced a home run, stretching the King lead to 2-0.
• However, Tucker responded with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning, cutting their deficit in half.
• In the fifth inning, Devotie started the inning with a triple, and later scored on a Hannah Smith groundball, giving King a 3-1 lead.
• That was all Lauren Smith would need as she finished the 3-1 victory in the circle by retiring the last 12 batters she faced following the Tucker home run.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Lauren Smith (5-6) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Taylor Billings (4-5) 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Tucker led the way for Lees-McRae in both games, going 3-for-3 with two runs batted in in the first game and going 1-for-3 in game two.

UP NEXT

• King stays on the road to face Conference Carolinas foe Southern Wesleyan University on Saturday. First pitch from Central, S.C. is slated for 2:00 p.m.
• Lees-McRae takes on Southern Wesleyan on Friday afternoon.