Box Score MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The King University baseball team came back to tie the score late in the opening game of their Conference Carolinas series at the University of Mount Olive. However, the Trojans rebounded in the 11th inning to take the contest 6-5.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Mount Olive 6, King 5 (F/11)
LOCATION: Scarborough Field; Mount Olive, N.C.
RECORDS: King 24-14, 10-10 Conference Carolinas; Mount Olive 27-11-1, 15-4 Conference Carolinas
TIME OF GAME: 3:39
King Starting Lineup
1. Tony Valdes – CF
2. J.P. Castaneda – 2B
3. Tyler Bailey – SS
4. Kevin Barbato – LF
5. Ashton King – DH
6. Bubba Ruiz – C
7. Austin Meyer – RF
8. Mark Michael – 3B
9. Hunter Barbour – 1B
Starting Pitcher: LHP Octavio Mirabal
Mount Olive Starting Lineup
1. Trae Sweeting – CF
2. Jose Lopez – C
3. Drew Ellis – 1B
4. Nate Estes – RF
5. Justin Carroll – LF
6. Gunner Tolston – DH
7. Blake McLean – SS
8. James Smibert – 3B
9. Chris Douglass – 2B
Starting Pitcher: LHP Brighton Hudson
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Barbato ripped his fifth home run of the year, a game-tying three-run bomb in the eighth inning.
- Ruiz drove in King's go-ahead run in the 11th inning with a double.
- Castaneda and Barbato recorded two hits each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Two batters into the bottom of the first inning, Mount Olive took the lead as Sweeting singled and stole second before scoring on a Lopez single.
- A groundout plated another run, giving the Trojans a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
- King cut their deficit in half in the top of the third inning as Meyer started the inning with a walk and later scored on a groundout.
- Tolston ripped a home run in the fourth inning to extended the Trojan lead and Mount Olive took a 4-1 lead with another run-scoring groundout in the sixth inning.
- Following a Ruiz walk in the seventh, King had a pair of one-out runners, but couldn't push a run across.
- In eighth inning, Bailey ripped a two-out single to put two runners on and Barbato followed with a home run on the first pitch, evening the score at 4-4.
- Mount Olive threatened to win the game in the bottom of the ninth, but the Tornado turned a double play to send the game to extra innings.
- Neither team scored in the 10th inning, and Bailey sparked the offense for King in the 11th.
- He reached on an error to start the inning and advanced to second.
- Ruiz later came up with the big blow, a two-out double that scored Bailey and gave King a 5-4 lead.
- A pair of walks and one-out single loaded the bases for the Trojans in the 11th inning. A walk evened the tally before Carroll singled to give Mount Olive the 6-5 victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Sweeting and Lopez registered two hits apiece and each scored two runs.
- Carroll and Tolston each drove in a pair with Tolston adding a pair of hits.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Zach Vennaro (5-1) 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
Losing Pitcher: Grant Boyd (5-3) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO
UP NEXT
- King and Mount Olive finish their three game Conference Carolinas series with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Mount Olive, N.C.
