MARS HILL, N.C. – The King University softball team came away with a split at Mars Hill University on Tuesday afternoon. The Tornado had chances in game one, but couldn't cash in as Mars Hill took the game 7-2. The Tornado made the most of the opportunities in game two, taking the contest 12-0.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Mars Hill 7, King 2; King 12, Mars Hill 0
LOCATION: Ponder Field; Mars Hill, N.C.
RECORDS: King 14-9; Mars Hill 17-6

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Kay Brokering went 5-for-7 on the day, and drove in six runs, all coming in game two. She also ripped her fifth home run of the season.
• Hanna Adams also collected five hits on the day and Katie McCann recorded four hits on the day.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• King had a pair of runners, but couldn't push any runs across in the first inning.
• Mars Hill then struck first, scoring four runs on four hits in the first inning. Ragan Broome started the inning with a home run to right field.
• The Lions then got two more run-scoring singles to take a 4-0 lead.
• King finally broke through in the fourth inning on an Adams single that scored Hattie Campbell. A Gilbert sacrifice fly then cut the Tornado deficit to 4-2 in the fourth.
• However, Mars Hill answered with a Casey Stanek two-run home run in the fourth, extending their lead back to 6-2.
• King loaded the sixth, but Stanek again kept the Tornado off the board.
• Mars Hill added an insurance run on a single from Addison Harris that scored Broome following a leadoff double.
• The Tornado didn't go down easy, loading the bases again, but to no avail, as Stanek got out of the inning, giving Mars Hill the 7-2 victory.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Casey Stanek (11-2) 7.0 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Rachel Farmer (4-1) 6.0 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The Tornado offense got going in the second inning as Gilbert put King ahead 1-0 with a single through the left side that scored Danielle Parks.
• Brokering then drove in two with a single and Jenna Burnett drove in another to put King ahead 4-0.
• Brokering extended the King lead to 7-0 with a three-run home run to left center in the fourth.
• King put the game out of reach with five runs in the sixth inning. Brokering, Campbell and Parks all drove in runs in the inning that put King ahead 12-0.
• In the circle for King, Casey Gilbert was solid, tossing her second career shutout.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Casey Gilbert (3-3) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Ashley Collins (2-1) 1.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Stanek posted three hits on the day, drove in two and scored twice.
• Hannah Smith posted three hits in game one and scored once.
• Broome posted three hits, scored twice and drove in one.

UP NEXT

• King hosts UVa-Wise on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
• Mars Hill travels to Limestone College on Thursday.