BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University closed the regular season with a pair of wins over UNC Pembroke on Friday afternoon, pushing their winning streak to five games.
Madison Walter tossed another shutout in a 1-0 game one while
Savana Luper and
Marleigh Duncan combined for a shutout in the 8-0 game two win. The wins, along with a pair of losses for Emmanuel College clinched the regular season Conference Carolinas title for the Tornado.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 1, UNC Pembroke 0; King 8, UNC Pembroke 0
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 31-20, 16-6 Conference Carolinas; UNC Pembroke 18-29, 11-11 Conference Carolinas
KING HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Following a leadoff single for the Braves in the first, Walter retired the next three batters, including a pair of strikeouts.
- Campbell started the bottom of the inning with a double and was sacrificed to third before a Lawson single drove her in and gave King the 1-0 lead.
- The Braves had runners in the second, third and fourth innings, but Walter again was able to get out of each inning unscathed.
- Following a two-out single in the fourth inning, Walter retired the final 10 batters she faced to give King the 1-0 victory and her second straight shutout.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Madison Walter (11-5) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
Losing Pitcher: Madison Dyson (7-15) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Campbell again got the Tornado off to a hot start with a triple to left center.
- She then scored when Haylee Dye took the first pitch she saw and hit a triple of her own giving King the lead.
- Dye didn't have to wait long to score, as a wild pitch brought her home, giving the Tornado a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
- The Braves threatened with a leadoff single and one-out hit in the second, but Luper got out of the inning.
- UNC Pembroke had the bases loaded in the third, but Luper again got out of the jam to keep the Tornado ahead.
- King broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning with four runs, highlighted by a two-run single from Turner as the Tornado took a 6-0 advantage.
- The Braves again had two runners in each of the next three innings, but Luper and relief pitcher Duncan got out of the inning each time to keep UNC Pembroke off the scoreboard.
- Lilly Million ripped a leadoff single to start the sixth before Campbell was hit by a pitch.
- Lawson then ended the game with a two-out, two-run single, giving King the 8-0 victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Savana Luper (12-4) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Summer Bullard (7-8) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Kaci Roberson led UNC Pembroke with three hits while Samantha Alfred posted two knocks.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Walter now has five shutouts on the season with two coming in the last two days.
- King wins their second straight Conference Carolinas regular season title and third in program history. Along with the 2022 crown, the Tornado also won the championship in 2013.
UP NEXT
- Both teams now turn their attention to the upcoming Conference Carolinas tournament, which is set to start Thursday in Duncan, S.C. First round pairings will be announced by Conference Carolinas this weekend.
