Late runs lead King to season-opening win at SWU

CENTRAL, S.C. – The King University baseball team used big innings late to defeat Southern Wesleyan University in their season-opener on Friday evening. The Tornado trailed the Warriors 4-1, but scored 11 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take the contest 12-4.

THE BASICS: King 12, Southern Wesleyan 4
LOCATION: Dr. C. Keith Connor Field; Central, S.C.
RECORDS: King 1-0, 1-0 Conference Carolinas; Southern Wesleyan 0-2, 0-1 Conference Carolinas
TIME OF GAME: 3:00

KING HIGHLIGHTS

• Braden White had a quality start on the mound for the Tornado, tossing five innings and allowing three runs in six hits.
• Deric Graham paced the offense with three hits, scored three runs and drove in two.
• David Carnicella drove in four on two hits.
• Connor Andrews also collected two hits while Junior Renwick and Davis Hall scored two runs each.
• Jarrett Backus ripped his first home run of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tornado threatened with a pair of runners in the first, but couldn't push a run across.
• Southern Wesleyan got on the board with single runs in the third and fifth innings. Ty King Richards came up with run-scoring singles in both innings.
• Carnicella drove in Graham in the sixth inning to cut the Tornado deficit in half, but the Tornado left the bases loaded in the frame.
• However, the Warriors added two runs in the bottom of the inning, one on a sacrifice fly from Sawyer Price and another on a pinch-hit single from Tyler Rogers.
• The Tornado offense got going in the seventh, plating six runs as Backus started the frame with a home run.
• Following a Junior Renwick walk, Austin Meyer laced a double before Graham plated both with a single, evening the score at four.
• Hall reached on an error that scored a pair before Carnicella made it a 7-4 lead with a run-scoring single.
• King then added five runs in the eighth inning, one on a Zachary Thomas double before Carnicella plated a pair with a single.
• Bennett McCann made it a 12-4 lead with a triple that scored Carnicella.
• From there Keanu Guzman got the final six outs to give King the season-opening victory.

FOR THE FOES

• King Richards, Tanner Glass and Josh Galloway all posted two hits to lead Southern Wesleyan.

OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Keanu Guzman (1-0) 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jake Wisniewski (0-1) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO

UP NEXT

• The Conference Carolinas series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12:00 p.m.