BELMONT, N.C. – The King University baseball team tried to rebound from a 10-2 game one loss to Belmont Abbey College on Friday afternoon. The Tornado held a late lead in game two, but the Crusaders came back with runs in each of the last four innings to take the nightcap 10-8.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Belmont Abbey 10, King 2; Belmont Abbey 10, King 8
LOCATION: Abbey Yard; Belmont, N.C.
RECORDS: King 9-12, 8-10 Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 17-8, 16-6 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Belmont Abbey took a 2-0 lead with a two-run home run from Sean Johnson in the bottom of the first inning.
- Backus started a rally in the second inning for the Tornado with a one-out single.
- He later scored on a Harrison Barger single that cut the King deficit in half.
- Deric Graham was hit by a pitch and later scored on a Truman Roper two-out single, evening the score at 2-2.
- Belmont Abbey hit another two-run home run in the third inning, this one from Mason Dodd to take a 4-2 lead.
- A pair of Crusader two-run doubles stretched the Tornado deficit to 8-2 in the fourth inning before Belmont Abbey capped the 10-2 win with a pair of runs in the fifth.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Sam High (4-1) 5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
Losing Pitcher: Braden White (1-3) 3.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Roper started game two with a single and was sacrificed to second before scoring on a Junior Renwick double.
- Renwick later scored on a Meyer single, giving King a 2-0 lead.
- The Tornado lead stayed there until the fifth inning as the pitching on both sides settled in.
- In the bottom of the fifth, Dodd ripped another two-run home run for Belmont Abbey to even the score at two.
- Belmont Abbey took a 5-2 lead following a Ben Gobbel leadoff home run in the sixth inning.
- Later in the frame, Danny Cruz ripped a two-run home run for the Crusaders.
- King answered with six runs in the top of the seventh inning.
- A pair of walks started the inning before a Wes Bonney double scored Backus.
- McCann drove in Bonney and Barger with a single, evening the score at 5-5.
- Meyer worked a bases loaded walk that gave King the lead before a Rob Sari sacrifice fly and Backus single gave King an 8-5 lead.
- However, the Crusaders answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh.
- A sacrifice fly scored one before a single score one and a double drove in another.
- Belmont Abbey took a 9-8 lead on a bases loaded walk.
- Dodd added an insurance run with another home run in the eight, giving the Crusaders a 10-8 lead.
- The Tornado went down in order in the ninth as Belmont Abbey took the game 10-8.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Joe Cooney (2-0) 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jakob Brown (1-2) 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Save: Will Carney (4) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Dodd led the Crusaders with three home runs and five runs batted in. Dodd scored four runs on four hits.
- Johnson drove in four on the day and scored four times.
UP NEXT
- The four-game series concludes with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
