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Box Score 2 MISENHEIMER, N.C. – The King University baseball team tried to get back in the win column on Saturday when they faced Pfeiffer University in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader. The Falcons uses a pair of big innings to take game one 10-5 before Alex Martin shutdown the Pfeiffer offense in game two. The Tornado took the nightcap 3-1 behind the stellar performance from the senior on the mound.
The Falcons (12-9, 5-3 CC) took an early 1-0 lead on a double by Izzy Perez in the bottom of the first inning before king threatened to score in the second inning. The Tornado stranded a pair of runners in the frame as the score remained 1-0 after two.
Pfeiffer broke the game open in the fourth by scoring six runs. Zac Chilton laced a two-run single, and Tanner Mathis ripped a three-run double later in the inning to give Pfeiffer a 7-0 lead after four.
King (6-12, 4-4 CC) got on the board in the sixth inning when J.P. Castaneda ripped a single to center that score Moises Soto and Ryan Whitt. Later in the inning, Forrest Haga drove in Heath Loyd with a sacrifice fly, cutting the King deficit to 7-3.
Nevertheless, Mathis got all three runs back for the Falcons in the sixth inning with one swing, lacing a three-run home run to center. The Tornado tried to make a comeback in the seventh as Jake Portugal came across to score on an error and Soto drove in Whitt with a single, but those were the only two runs King would score as they fell 10-5.
Whitt and Soto paced the offense, each going 2-for-4 at the plate. Whitt scored twice and Castaneda drove in two.
The Falcons again struck first in game two as Perez ripped a two-out run scoring double to put Pfeiffer ahead. However, that was the only blemish on Martin's line as he only allowed two Falcon hits, and three base runners over the next six innings.
The Tornado gave Martin the run support he needed in third inning as Preston Douglas started a two-out rally with a double to left center. He then scored on a Jose Sola single to even the score. After a Tyler Raymond single scored Sola and give King the lead, Portugal laced a double down the right field line that plated Raymond and gave King a 3-1 lead.
Martin used that momentum on the mound, sitting the Falcons down in order over the next three innings. After the first batter of the second inning single, Martin sat down 15 straight batters until the seventh inning when he issued a leadoff walk. Later in the inning the Falcons got a single to put two runners on, but Martin stuck out the final two batters to keep the Tornado ahead 3-1.
Jason Nebrat relieved Martin the eighth, and worked around a leadoff walk before Nathan Helke came on in the ninth for the save. After a one-out single, Helke got back-to-back strikeouts to end the game and earn his third save of the season.
Sola and Portugal each went 2-for-4 at the plate while Douglas and Raymond accounted for the other two King hits in the contest. Martin tossed seven innings, allowing the one run on four hits while striking out eight on 96 pitches.
King will be in action again on Tuesday when they host Mars Hill University in a nonconference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m.
