BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University softball team got off to a hot start by sweeping Queens University. Hattie Campbell drove in four in the season-opening 5-3 victory while Emma Hughes struck out 13 as King took the nightcap 3-1.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 5, Queens 3; King 3, Queens 1
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 2-0; Queens 5-3

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Campbell had a huge debut, going, 3-for-4 and drove in four in the opening contest.
• Kay Brokering went 3-for-5 with two runs score and two runs batted in.
• Casey Gilbert scored a pair of runs in the nightcap from the leadoff spot.
• Hughes matched a career-high with 13 strikeouts.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Leslie Odom stranded a Queens leadoff single in the first, and the Tornado offense was ready in the bottom half.
• Kaycee Castell laced a one-out double before the Tornado loaded the bases.
• Campbell ripped a double off the left-center field wall that cleared the bases and gave King a 3-0.
• Brokering started the third with a triple and later scored on a Campbell single through the right side.
• King then loaded the bases, but the Royals escaped the jam, holding their deficit at 4-0.
• The score remained the same until Sydney Ditto ripped a pinch-hit three-run home run in the fifth inning.
• The Tornado answered with a Gilbert two-out single that scored Brianna Harbin to extend the King lead to 5-3.
• The first two batters of the seventh reached for Queens, but Rachel Farmer induced pair of groundballs, including a double play that ended the 5-3 Tornado win.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Leslie Odom (1-0) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Shannon McGuire (2-2) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Save: Rachel Farmer (1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• King struck first again in the nightcap, scoring two runs in the first inning. Brokering drove in one with a double and Jenna Burnett plated another with a groundball.
• In the circle, Emma Hughes was lights out for the Tornado as she posted five strikeouts in the opening three frames.
• Brokering extended the Tornado lead with a single that scored Gilbert in the fifth as Hughes was still cruising.
• The only blemish of the day for Hughes came in the sixth with Ditto hit a triple off the top of the left field fence, plating an unearned run for the Royals.
• Hughes capped the day with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh, giving King the 3-1 victory.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Emma Hughes (1-0) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO
Losing Pitcher: Courtney Pearson (3-1) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Ditto paced the Royal offense, driving in all four runs and accounted for two hits.
• Gerlea Patton posted three hits for Queens from the leadoff spot.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The wins for the Tornado mark the first for King first-year head coach Jake Cockerham.

UP NEXT

• King is scheduled to return to the diamond on Sunday when they host Davis & Elkins College and West Virginia State University. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
• Queens travels to the Francis Marion University tournament on Friday and Saturday.