CENTRAL, S.C. – The King University baseball team opened their final Conference Carolinas series of the season with a win on Friday night at Southern Wesleyan University. The Tornado offense struck early, and that was all starting pitcher Mark Hendricks needed as he tossed a complete game on the mound, giving King the 8-2 victory.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 8, Southern Wesleyan 2
LOCATION: Dr. Connor Field; Central, S.C.
RECORDS: King 17-29, 9-16 Conference Carolinas; Southern Wesleyan 15-31, 3-22 Conference Carolinas
TIME OF GAME: 3:00

King Starting Lineup

1. Preston Douglas – RF
2. Mark Hencken – C
3. Ryan Whitt – LF
4. Ryan Sattz – DH
5. Dylan Sligh – 1B
6. Tyler Bailey – SS
7. J.P. Castaneda – 2B
8. Austin Dayton – 3B
9. Zak Kitzmiller – CF
Starting Pitcher: RHP Mark Hendricks

Southern Wesleyan Starting Lineup

1. Avery Mahon – DH
2. Drew Carson – RF
3. Conner Ewing – C
4. Brad Bisko – LF
5. Matt Costa – 3B
6. Luke Hostetler – 1B
7. John Garrett - SS
8. Trevor Walker – 2B
9. Dimarkus Sanders – CF
Starting Pitcher: RHP Tyler Rio

KING HIGHLIGHTS

• The trio of Whitt, Dayton and Sattz all record three hits for the Tornado. Whitt and Dayton both went 3-for-4 while Sattz went 3-for-5.
• Whitt scored twice and drove in one while Kitzmiller recorded two hits and scored twice.
• Douglas led the team with two runs batted in.
• The story of the game for the Tornado was Hendricks on the mound as he allowed just two unearned runs on eight hits while striking out four.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dayton doubled in the top of the second inning to put runners on second and third with one out before Kitzmiller laced a single to left field that scored on and an error allowed a second run to score.
• Douglas then drove in Kitzmiller with a sacrifice fly, giving King a 3-0 lead after two.
• Whitt walked and moved to third on a Sattz single in the third before giving King a 4-0 lead when he scored on a passed ball.
• In the fourth, Hencken walked and stole second before Whitt came up with a two-out single, plating Hencken and stretching the Tornado lead to 5-0.
• The combination of Kitzmiller and Douglas struck again as Kitzmiller singled and Douglas drove him in with a double down the right field line.
• Trailing 6-0, Southern Wesleyan scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. One run scored on a defensive miscue and another on a fielder's choice, cutting the Warriors' deficit to 6-2.
• However, King answered with two runs in the top of the seventh and Sattz drove in Whitt with a double and Bailey plated Sattz with a single up the middle.
• That was all Hendricks needed as he only allowed one hit over the final two innings to earn his third complete game of the season and give King the 8-2 victory.

FOR THE FOES

• Bisko led the Warriors with two hits and one run batted in.
• Ewing drove in the Warriors' other run while Mahon and Carson scored those runs.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Hendricks (3-5) 9.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Rio (2-7) 6.0 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO

UP NEXT

• Both teams conclude their Conference Carolinas schedule with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.