FLORENCE, S.C. – The King University baseball team opened the final series of the season with a doubleheader split at Francis Marion University. The Tornado fell 14-1 in game one, but bounced back to win game two 8-7.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Francis Marion 14, King 1; King 8, Francis Marion 7
LOCATION: Sparrow Stadium; Florence, S.C.
RECORDS: King 22-20, 15-13 Conference Carolinas; Francis Marion 29-17, 16-13 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Scott singles in the first, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
- However, he was left there, and the Patriot offense grabbed the lead in the bottom of the inning.
- The four-run inning was highlighted by a two-run single from Tanner Wakefield.
- Francis Marion added three runs on two singles and a sacrifice fly in the second inning to take a 7-0 lead.
- In the fourth inning, Darius Nobles extended the lead to 9-0 with a two-run home run.
- The Tornado deficit grew to 14-0 following a five-run eighth inning from the Patriots.
- In the ninth inning, Medford started a rally with a double and later scored on a Connor Hyatt groundout.
- However, that was all King scored as Francis Marion took the game 14-1.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Robbie Jordan (8-3) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Ray Berry (5-4) 1.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Francis Marion threatened in the first inning and broke through in the second inning on a two-run single from Will Hardee.
- King responded in the top of the third as Chase Hilliard started the frame with a single.
- He later scored on a Backus single before King added another on a Patriot defensive miscue.
- Scott gave King a 3-2 lead when his groundout scored Backus.
- Nobles answered with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning, give the lead back to Francis Marion at 4-3.
- The Tornado responded with four runs in the fourth as Steele started the inning with a single before Medford was hit by a pitch.
- A Helms single scored Steele before Medford scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the lead back to King.
- Helms later scored on a wild pitch before a groundout scored Hutcherson and gave King a 7-4 advantage.
- Steele later ripped his first career home run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 8-4.
- Francis Marion added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and threatened for more in the sixth.
- However, Nic Blankenship entered on the mound with runners on second and third and got two pop outs to end the inning and keep King in the lead.
- Francis Marion loaded the bases in the seventh, but Blankenship induced another pop out to end the game and give King the 8-7 vicory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Jakob Brown (4-5) 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Halton Hardy (5-3) 3.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Save: Nic Blankenship (7) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Nobles led the Patriots with a pair of home runs and four runs batted in.
- Hardee and Todd Mattox each posted five hits on the day while Wakefield drove in three on the day.
UP NEXT
- The series concludes on Saturday with first pitch at 1:30 p.m.
