Box Score CENTRAL, S.C.. – The King University baseball team won their third Conference Carolinas series to start the season when they took the rubber game at Southern Wesleyan University on Saturday. The Tornado offense came alive, posting 10 runs in the fifth inning of their 19-8 victory over the Warriors.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 19, Southern Wesleyan 8
LOCATION: C. Keith Conner Field; Central, S.C.
RECORDS: King 14-6, 6-3 Conference Carolinas; Emmanuel 12-11, 1-7 Conference Carolinas
TIME OF GAME: 3:00
King Starting Lineup
1. J.P. Castaneda – 2B
2. Mark Michael – DH
3. Tony Valdes – CF
4. Bubba Ruiz – C
5. Tyler Bailey – SS
6. Hunter Barbour – 1B
7. Kevin Barbato – LF
8. Austin Meyer – RF
9. Coby Sale – 3B
Starting Pitcher: RHP George Helbig
Southern Wesleyan Starting Lineup
1. John Garrett – SS
2. Trey Matthews – C
3. Julio Justo – 2B
4. Quinton Bent- 1B
5. Conner Ewing – DH
6. Jesse Getford – 3B
7. Devin Patrick – RF
8. Andrew Falgiano – LF
9. Noah Fritz – CF
Starting Pitcher: RHP Josh Core
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Barbour and Barbato paced the King offense with four hits apiece.
- Barbour scored four runs and ripped his first career home run.
- Barbato ripped a pair of home runs and drove in five.
- Bailey and Ruiz also hit home runs with Ruiz driving in four runs.
- Sale drove in a pair and scored twice.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- King grabbed the lead with back-to-back home runs from Barbour and Barbato in the second inning.
- Following a run for the Warriors in the bottom of the inning, King plated four runs in the third inning. Ruiz ripped a two-run home run and Bailey hit a home run in the inning. Sale worked a bases loaded walk to give King a 6-1 lead.
- The Tornado broke the game open with 10 runs in the fifth inning.
- Barbato ripped a double that scored Barbour to start the scoring in the inning, and then Barbato gave King a 17-2 lead with a three-run home run later in the inning.
- Southern Wesleyan scored four runs in the seventh, but King answered with a pair of runs in the eighth.
- The Warriors ended the day with a run in the ninth, but the Tornado took the contest 19-8.
FOR THE FOES
- Matthews went 4-for-4 with two runs batted in and three runs scored.
- Bent drove in three on two hits.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: George Helbig (2-0) 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Josh Core (1-5) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
UP NEXT
- King travels to Tusculum College on Tuesday. First pitch from Greeneville, Tenn., is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
- Southern Wesleyan travels to Truett-McConnell University on Tuesday.
