Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WISE, Va. – The King University softball team swept a doubleheader from regional rival UVa-Wise behind a pair of masterful pitching performances on Saturday. Casey Gilbert and Emma Hughes both tossed complete games, striking out a combined 20 batters as King took both ends of the twin bill 3-1.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, UVa-Wise 1; King 3, UVa-Wise 1
LOCATION: Cavalier Field; Wise, Va.
RECORDS: King 4-4; UVa-Wise 5-5
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Bailey Deason paced the offense with three hits, including her first career home run.
- Erin Foster also ripped her first career home run.
- Chelsea Sams, Gilbert and Danielle Parks all had two hits each.
- Gilbert struck out a career-high 11 batters, topping her previous best of seven set last season.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Meagan Puckett got the offense going in the second inning with a leadoff single. She later scored on Deason's home run, giving King a 2-0 lead.
- Deason tacked on another King run in the fourth when she drove in Foster with single.
- In the circle, Gilbert was locked in as she retired seven straight batters in the third, fourth and fifth innings before a leadoff double in the sixth.
- In the sixth, Gilbert stranded runners on second and third to keep the shutout intact.
- A one-out home run in the seventh got UVa-Wise on the board, but Gilbert got the final two outs to give King the 3-1 win.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Casey Gilbert (3-1) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO
Losing Pitcher: McKenna Falwell (2-2) 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Azlee Sells started a two-out rally for the Tornado in the second inning with a single.
- She later scored on a Lexi Stafford single, putting the Tornado on top.
- King looked to extend their lead in the fourth, loading the bases with one out, but couldn't come up with a hit.
- Hughes retired in the first 10 UVa-Wise batters she faced, until an Alexis Miles home run evened the score in the fourth inning.
- Foster got that run back for Hughes, plus another as she ripped a home run to left center that score Gilbert and gave King a 3-1 lead.
- Following the home run, Hughes retired the next five batters before a leadoff walk in the sixth.
- Hughes then worked around a one-out hit in the seventh to close out the 3-1 Tornado victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Emma Hughes (1-2) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
Losing Pitcher: Kaitlyn Spencer (1-2) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Miles had two hits for the Cavaliers, including a home run.
- Kailey Huffman also recorded two hits on the day.
UP NEXT
- King hosts Milligan College on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
- UVa-Wise hosts Lees-McRae College on Sunday.
