TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The King University baseball team was unable to pull an upset of 11th-ranked North Greenville University, falling in both games of their Conference Carolinas doubleheader.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: North Greenville 14, King 3; North Greenville 6, King 1
LOCATION: Ashmore Park; Tigerville, S.C.
RECORDS: King 16-16, 9-11 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 33-6, 20-4 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Zachary Thomas was 2-for-5 on the day for King, with a home run while also drawing a walk.
- Robbie Scott went 2-for-5, with a run scored and was a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
- Jakob Brown threw seven strong innings in game two, allowing one earned run on eight hits with four strikeouts.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- The game was scoreless heading to the bottom of the third, where the Crusaders put up three runs, all of which came on a home run.
- North Greenville added a run in the fourth before scoring three times in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead.
- Davis Hall led off the Tornado sixth by reaching on a throwing error by the third baseman, advancing to second when Scott drew a walk.
- Jarrett Backus followed with a single through the right side, moving Scott to third and allowing Hall to score the first run of the game for King.
- After a flyout, Wes Bonney reached base on a fielder's choice, which allowed Scott to score from third base.
- The Crusaders would respond in a big way in the bottom of the inning, scoring seven runs.
- King added a run in the seventh when Thomas blasted his first home run of the season, sending the ball over the left field fence.
- That wouldn't be enough for King to close the gap, as they fell 14-3.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Reece Fields (7-1) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Drew Moore (5-3) 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- King didn't wait long to strike, as Truman Roper drew a leadoff walk, advancing to second on an infield single from Hall.
- Scott would move both runners up a base when he grounded out.
- Jarrett Backus then bunted to the pitcher, but the first baseman muffed the throw, allowing Roper to score and allowing Hall to move to third base.
- The inning would come to an end on a pair of outs.
- North Greenville tied the game in the bottom of the frame, after which neither team was able to scratch across a run until the bottom of the fourth, when the Crusaders scored a run to take a 2-1 lead.
- That was the score heading to the bottom of the eighth, when North Greenville scored four times, taking a 6-1 lead.
- King would go down in order in the top of the ninth, giving the Crusaders the win and a series sweep.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Noah Takac (4-0) 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jakob Brown (2-5) 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Marek Chulup was 5-for-9 at the plate, with four RBI.
- Gehrig Octabvio and Pat Monteith both went 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
- Takac threw five innings, allowing just one hit with four strikeouts to pace the Crusaders pitching staff.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado return to action Wednesday for a nonconference matchup at Emory & Henry, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
- North Greenville will take on Newberry College in a top-25 showdown Tuesday night.
