BURLINGTON, N.C. – Seventh-seeded Belmont Abbey College completed the first round of upsets at the Conference Carolinas Softball Championship as they defeated second-seeded King University. The Crusaders scored three runs in the second inning and added two more in the fourth to take the contest 5-2.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 7 Belmont Abbey 5; No. 2 King 2
LOCATION: Springwood Park; Burlington, N.C.
RECORDS: King 28-20; Belmont Abbey 21-20

OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS

• Claire Doyle led Belmont Abbey with three this while Payton Whitley drove in a pair.
• Katelyn Davidson collected two hits for King, including her seventh home run of the season.
• Kay Brokering also posted two hits and drove in one.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHTS

• Annabeth Watkins earned the win, tossing five innings and allowing two runs on five hits.
• Ivorie Maltby tossed the final two innings to earn her first career save, allowing only two hits.
• Rachel Farmer started for King as she allowed five runs, two earned on six hits in three innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Belmont Abbey grabbed the lead with back-to-back run-scoring hits with two outs in the second.
• Melissa Neyhouse scored one with a single and Payton Whitley plated a pair with a double, giving the Crusaders a 3-0 lead.
• Katelyn Davidson started the bottom half of the inning with a home run to center field to get King on the board.
• The Tornado then put runners on second and third, but couldn't push any more runs across.
• Belmont Abbey extended their lead to 5-1 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Doyle ripped a double to score one and Smith drove in Doyle with a two-out single.
• Brokering drove in one with two out in the fifth, cutting the King deficit to 5-2. Jenna Burnett followed with a single, but the Crusaders cut the run down at the plate to end the inning.
• King again threatened with a pair of runners in the seventh, but couldn't push any runs across as the Crusaders took the game 5-2.

UP NEXT

• King faces Mount Olive in an elimination game on Friday evening.
• Belmont Abbey takes on sixth seed Southern Wesleyan on Friday night.