BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team earned their first Conference Carolinas series sweep of the season on Saturday, taking both ends of the doubleheader from Southern Wesleyan University.
Drew Moore was masterful on the mound in game one, leading King to the 8-1 victory while
Jarrett Backus powered the Tornado offense to a 9-6 game-two victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 8, Southern Wesleyan 1; King 9, Southern Wesleyan 6
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 9-4, 6-2 Conference Carolinas; Southern Wesleyan 4-14, 1-8 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Backus went 6-for-8 on the day with two doubles, a home run and drove in five.
- Davis Hall drove in three on four hits while Junior Renwick posted a pair of hits and scored two runs.
- Connor Andrews collected three hits while both of Chase Hilliard's hits on the day were doubles.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- The Tornado manufactured three runs in the first inning, as Renwick scored on a wild pitch after singling earlier in the inning.
- King added another on a defensive miscue before Andrews drove in Jack Flanagan with a double that gave the Tornado a 3-0 lead.
- The Warriors got on the board with a leadoff home run from Josh Asbill in the third inning, but Moore retired the next three batters.
- A pair of bases loaded walks to Renwick and Robbie Scott gave extended the King lead to 5-1 after the fourth inning.
- An Andrews sacrifice fly scored Davis Hall in the fifth inning before a wild pitch scored Deric Graham.
- Backus then drove in Wes Bonney to give King an 8-1 lead.
- That was all Moore needed as he earned his third win of the year and third complete game in the 8-1 victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Drew Moore (3-0) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO
Losing Pitcher: TJ McEvilly (0-3) 3.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Ray Berry was solid on the bump for the Tornado in the nightcap, scattering seven hits in six and one-thirds innings.
- Backus led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and stole second and third but was left there.
- Southern Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the third, but King turned a double play behind Berry to get out of the inning.
- The Tornado grabbed the lead on back-to-back RBI-doubles from Hilliard and Backus, giving King a 2-1 lead after the fourth.
- King extended the lead in he fifth inning as Hall laced a two-run double to left center before scoring on a Hilliard groundout.
- Backus gave King a 7-1 lead with a single through the left side that scored Caleb Helms and Andrews.
- The Warriors plated a pair in the seventh inning and added three more in the eight, cutting the King lead to 7-6.
- Backus responded with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
- Renwick later singled and stole second before scoring on a Hall single that gave King a 9-6 lead.
- Nic Blankenship entered in the top of the eight inning and recorded the final out to escape the jam.
- He then retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his third save of the season, giving King the 9-6 victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Ray Berry (2-1) 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Sean Sutay (0-2) 4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Save: Nic Blankenship (3) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Zach O'Malley led Southern Wesleyan with three hits, including a triple and one run batted in.
UP NEXT
- King travels to Mars Hill University on Tuesday. First pitch from Mars Hill, N.C. is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
- Southern Wesleyan travels to Emmanuel College on Friday.
