GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The King University baseball team dropped both games of their nonconference doubleheader Saturday afternoon, falling 4-2 in game one before dropping a 15-3 game two to Tusculum University.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Tusculum 4, King 2; Tusculum 15, King 3
LOCATION: Pioneer Park; Greeneville, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 11-21; Tusculum 21-15
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Derek Martin was 2-for-2, with his hits being a triple and a home run, both of which came in the first game.
- Chase Hilliard was 1-for-3, while Mason Swartz went 2-for-4. Junior Renwick was 1-for-6, with a double and two runs scored.
- Jakob Brown threw three innings, allowing two runs, none of which were earned, on two hits with two strikeouts.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Hyatt started the contest with a double, but was left at third.
- Tusculum posted a two-out single, but Drew Moore picked him off of first base to end the inning.
- In the second, the Pioneers put a runner on third, but Moore got out of the inning.
- King put runners on in each the second and third innings, but couldn't string hits together.
- Tusculum loaded the bases I the fourth inning, but Moore got a strikeout to end the inning.
- Junior Renwick and Chase Hilliard opened the King half of the fifth inning with consecutive singles and moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt.
- However, the Tornado couldn't push a run across as the Pioneers got the final two outs.
- A one-out double, followed by a walk put a pair of runners on in the fifth for Tusculum.
- Back-to-back singles scored the runs, giving the Pioneers a 2-0 lead before a double play ended the inning.
- King loaded the bases in the sixth inning on a Davis Hall single and a pair of walks.
- Nevertheless, Tusculum got out of the inning to keep the Tornado off of the scoreboard.
- Tusculum threatened again in the sixth with a pair of runners, but Jakob Brown got a groundout and flyout to end the inning.
- Martin ripped a one-out triple in the seventh inning, and Mason Swartz followed with a single to pull King within 2-1.
- However, the Pioneers got the final two outs to end the inning.
- In the bottom of the seventh, Tusculum loaded the bases and scored a pair on a defensive miscue to take a 4-1 lead.
- Both teams put two runners on in the eighth, but couldn't push any runs across.
- Martin started the ninth inning with his second home run of the season.
- However, the Pioneers got the final three outs to take the contest 4-2.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Seth Willis (6-1) 6.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Drew Moore (3-5) 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Save: Drew Sliwinski (1) 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- It was the Tornado who struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the third.
- Ethan Hawkins started by drawing a walk, advancing to third on a Renwick double.
- The first run would come when Chase Hilliard grounded out, scoring Hawkins.
- Renwick scored on a sacrifice fly one batter later, handing King a 2-0 lead.
- After the Pioneers scored four runs in the fourth, King added one in the top of the fifth when Jake Lathrop grounded out, allowing Renwick to score.
- Tusculum would then score six runs in their half of the inning, before adding six in the fifth and five more in the sixth to take a 15-3 lead.
- King would get a pair of runners in the seventh, with Jake Lathrop hitting a one-out double before Nick Valentin drew a walk, but were unable to extend the game, falling 15-3.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Trejen Fox-Birdwell (2-1) 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Grant Carlton (1-4) 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Rudy Fernandez was 4-for-8 for the Pioneers, with two runs scored and an RBI.
- The Pioneers had two home runs on the day, coming from Kadem Swaim and Wes Reynolds.
UP NEXT
- King returns home on Tuesday to face Mars Hill University at 3:00 p.m.
- Tusculum travels to Lenoir-Rhyne University on Friday and Saturday.
