BURLINGTON, N.C. – The King University softball team forced a decisive game for the Conference Carolinas Softball Championship against third seed North Greenville University. The fourth seeded Tornado took their second title behind a masterful outing from Leslie Odom, winning the contest 7-0.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE:  No. 4 King 7, No. 3 North Greenville 0
LOCATION: Springwood Park; Burlington, N.C.
RECORDS: North Greenville 32-15; King 34-20

OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS

• Katie McCann led the Tornado offense with two runs batted in on one hit from the leadoff spot.
• Candace Maness recorded a pair of hits while seven different Tornado scored runs.
• The Crusaders had hits from Ashton Withers, Grace DeBoer and Taylor Koon.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHTS

• Odom was masterful, throwing only 76 pitches and allowing three hits, two in the seventh inning. She struck out four in the contest.
• For North Greenville, Jaelin Griffin tossed five and one-thirds innings, allowing six runs on five hits and striking out six.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The contest started out a as pitcher's duel between Griffin and Odom, but King finally broke through in the third inning with a Maness leadoff single.
• The Tornado loaded the bases for Brokering who ripped a single off the pitcher, scoring the game's first run.
• A wild pitch scored one run before Jenna Burnett lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to give King a 3-0.
• Odom continued to cruise in the circle for the Tornado, retiring the first 11 batters she faced.
• North Greenville recorded their first hit with two outs in the fourth, but Odom responded with a strikeout, keeping King ahead 3-0 after four.
• The King offense struck again in the sixth following a Katelyn Davidson leadoff single. Maness later drove her in before McCann came up with a two-out, two-run single.
• The Tornado added another on a North Greenville defensive miscue, taking a 7-0 advantage.
• Odom retired seven straight before a North Greenville leadoff single in the seventh.
• She then had to work around a pair of hits in the seventh before getting the final out to give King the 7-0 victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• King wins their second Conference Carolinas Softball Tournament, the first coming in 2012 when they made their lone NCAA Division II Softball Championship appearance.
• Odom was named tournament most outstanding player while Hayes, Hannah Riddle and  ErinRoper earned all-tournament team recognition.
• For North Greenville, Amanda Coffrin, Griffin and Rivers were named to the all-tournament team.

UP NEXT

• King will be in action again in the NCAA Division II Softball Championship, the selection show is scheduled for May 7 at 10:00 p.m.