BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team split their Conference Carolinas doubleheader with Erskine College Saturday, dropping the first game 5-3 before erupting for seven runs in game two to salvage a split.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Erskine 5, King 3; King 7, Erskine 5
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 7-1, 1-1 Conference Carolinas; Erskine 8-3, 1-1 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Garret Huffman was 3-of-4 on the day, with a pair of walks.
- Preston Steele had a home run in the first game, finishing 2-for-8, with two runs scored and three RBI.
- Conner Hyatt was 2-of-3, with a double and a pair of RBI.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- The Tornado struck in the bottom of the first, getting Davis Hall on base to set up Steele to hit his first home run of the season, putting King ahead 2-0.
- Erskine got an RBI single in the top of the third, cutting the lead to 2-1.
- After tying the game in the top of the fifth, the Flying Fleet took the lead on a wild pitch.
- Wes Bonney led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to left field, scoring when Hall singled into right-center field, though the Tornado would be unable to re-take the lead.
- Erskine added a pair on the top of the sixth, taking a 5-3 lead.
- The Tornado would leave seven runners on base over the final three innings, including runners on first and second in the ninth before a groundout ended the game.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Joe Alegre (3-0) 7.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jakob Brown (1-1) 5.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- The Flying Fleet struck first, hitting a two-out home run in the top of the third to go ahead 1-0.
- Huffman started the bottom of the inning with a walk, scoring when Hyatt doubled down the left field line, tying the game at one.
- In the fifth, Erskine took a 2-1 lead on a one-out sacrifice fly.
- The Tornado erupted in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs on five hits.
- Bonney and Hall started the inning with a single and walk, before a flyout allowed Bonney to advance to third.
- After Hall stole second, Steele reached base on a fielder's choice, scoring Bonney and moving Hall to third.
- Ethan Hawkins then ripped a double to right field, bringing Hall in to score, making it 3-2.
- Levi Medford delivered a two-rbi single up the middle, extending the lead to 5-2.
- The Tornado added one final run with two outs, when Hyatt singled down the right field line, scoring Medford and handing the Tornado a 6-2 lead.
- King would add a insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, with Matthew Swigert scoring on a groundout by Ethan Hawkins.
- After Christian Walzak came into the game in the seventh in relief of Drew Moore, the Flying Fleet were able to score three runs, but came up short, as Walzak got a strikeout and groundout to end the game.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Drew Moore (2-0) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Josh Collett (0-1) 4.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Dale Francis Jr. was 5-for-7 on the day, with a double and a walk.
- David Hernandez went 2-for-3, while Tariq Bacon went 2-for-7, with five RBI and a home run.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado have a three-game series at Emmanuel next weekend, with the series starting at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
- Erskine will hot Lincoln Memorial University on Tuesday in a nonconference tilt.
