BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University softball team dropped a pair of nonconference games to Tusculum University on Monday afternoon. The Tornado led early in game one, but four late runs from the Pioneers gave Tusculum the 4-2 win. The Pioneers then took game two 6-2 with three runs in the late innings.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Tusculum 4, King 2; Tusculum 6, King 2
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 25-18; Tusculum 21-19

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Kaycee Casteel posted four hits on the day, including three in game one.
• Kay Brokering ripped a triple and drove in one.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Katelyn Davidson led off the second inning with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball.
• She later scored on a passed ball, giving King the 1-0 lead.
• Casey Gilbert started the third inning with an infield single and advanced to third on a Brokering single. Gilbert scored a Tusculum defensive miscue on the play, extending the King lead to 2-0.
• The Pioneers go the board in the fifth on a Taylor Battle single that cut the Tusculum deficit in half.
• Tusculum took the lead with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. The Pioneers got run-scoring singles from Anna Alloway and Grayson Brown to take a 3-2 lead.
• In the seventh, the Pioneers added an insurance run on a Tornado defensive miscue.
• King got their leadoff batter on base in the seventh, but that was it as Tusculum took the game 4-2.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Ivee Richesin (7-7) 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Casey Gilbert (11-5) 7.0 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• King loaded the bases in the first inning with two outs, but couldn't score.
• Tusculum grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning as Battle drove in one with a triple and scored on a Sammie West single.
• The Tornado responded in the bottom half of the inning as Brokering drove in Casteel with a triple.
• Brokering later scored on a groundout, evening the tally at 2-2.
• However, the Pioneers regained the lead in the fourth on a two-out infield single from Brittney Fanse.
• Alloway extended the lead with a leadoff home run in the sixth before Emma Casey had a 14-pitch battle with Tornado pitcher Emma Hughes.
• Casey won the battle with a two-out, two-run double that gave Tusculum a 6-2 lead.
• The Tornado went down in order in the final two innings as the Pioneers took the game 6-2.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Taylor Plemons (8-6) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Rachel Farmer (6-6) 5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Alloway posted three hits on the day, including a home run and drove in two.
• Franse led the Pioneers with four hits on the day while West and Emily Hester posted three hits each.

UP NEXT

• King travels to Converse College on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
• Tusculum travels to Lenoir-Rhyne University on Friday afternoon.