BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team earned their sixth straight win to start the season, defeating UVA Wise on Wednesday afternoon.
Truman Roper led the way for the Tornado offense in the 6-4 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 6, UVA Wise 4
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 5-0, UVA Wise 0-8
TIME OF GAME: 2:17
KING HIGHLIGHTS
HOW IT HAPPENED
- King grabbed a 4-0 lead in the second inning as Hawkins and Spivey reached to start the frame.
- The Tornado scored a run on a wild pitch and a groundout before a Roper triple plated another and scored on an error.
- The Cavaliers got on the board with a double and back-to-back singles, cutting the King lead to 4-2.
- The Tornado extended there lead back to four at 6-2 with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the inning.
- UVA Wise manufactured a run in the fourth following a walk and wild pitch. A sacrifice fly scored the run, cutting the King lead to 6-3.
- From there, the pitching settled in as there were only three runners total in the next four innings.
- Three singles for the Cavaliers in the ninth resulted in another run, but Ray Berry got the final out to give King the 6-4 victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Jeb Hurst led the way for UVA Wise with two hits.
- Gavin Birkhimer and Carter Babb each drove in a run.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Mitchell Kahlenberg (1-0) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Eli Reece (0-2) 3.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 SO
Save: Ray Berry (1) 1.0 IP, 3 H 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The 6-0 start for the Tornado is their first 5-0 start since 2008 when the Tornado started 6-0.
UP NEXT
- King is scheduled to open Conference Carolinas play on Friday against Erskine College at 2:00 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m.
- UVA Wise travels to Ohio Dominican University on Saturday and Sunday.
