TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The King University baseball team closed their series at 25th-ranked North Greenville University with a pair of tough defeats on Saturday afternoon. North Greenville took game one 3-1 before winning game two 6-3.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #25 North Greenville 3, King 1; #25 North Greenville 6, King 3
LOCATION: Ashmore Park; Tigerville, S.C..
RECORDS: King 15-9, 6-6 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 22-5, 10-2 Conference Carolinas

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• Mark Michael led the Tornado with four hits while Tyler Bailey followed with three hits, including two doubles.
• Michael, J.P. Castaneda, Tony Valdes and Trader Flora all drove in runs for the Tornado.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• North Greenville grabbed the lead in the third inning on an Eric Gilbert home run to left field.
• The Crusaders then extended their lead to 3-0 with a pair of sacrifice flies in the fourth inning.
• Ashton King tried to spark the King offense in the fourth inning with a leadoff double. He later scored on a Michael single, cutting the Tornado deficit to 3-1.
• However, the Tornado couldn't get their offense going again as the Crusaders took the contest 3-1.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Tucker Burgess (7-1) 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Octavio Mirabal (5-2) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO
Save: Canaan Cropper (3) 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The Crusaders jumped ahead again in game two, this time with three runs in the second inning that was highlighted by a two-run single from Jared Williams.
• North Greenville extended their lead to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the third inning.
• Valdes got King on the board with a single that scored Castaneda in the fourth inning.
• The Tornado cut their deficit to 5-3 with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Flora drove in one with a sacrifice fly and Castaneda came up with a two-out single to score Austin Meyer.
• However, the Crusaders played a run on an Alex Williams home run to take the game 6-3.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Blake Hamilton (1-2) 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Ashton King (0-1) 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
Save: Avery Greer (5) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO

FOR THE FOES

• Gilbert and Connor Grant registered three hits each, with Gilbert hitting a home run and Grant ripping two doubles. Grant also scored three runs on the day.
• Jack Morris and Jared Williams drove in two runs each on the day to lead the Crusaders.

UP NEXT

• King hosts Carson-Newman University on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
• North Greenville hosts Claflin University on Tuesday afternoon.