JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The King University baseball team traveled to regional rival Carson-Newman University on Tuesday afternoon, and the Eagles took an early advantage. However, the Tornado dug their way out of an 8-0 deficit to even the score before evening the tally again with two runs in the top of the ninth. Nevertheless, Carson-Newman scored once in the bottom of the ninth to take the contest 11-10.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Carson-Newman 11, King 10
LOCATION: Silver Diamond; Jefferson City, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 14-22; Mars Hill 22-14
TIME OF GAME: 3:18

King Starting Lineup

1. Preston Douglas – RF
2. Mark Hencken – 2B
3. Ryan Whitt – LF
4. Ryan Sattz – DH
5. Dylan Sligh – 1B
6. Anthony Hunt – C
7. Tyler Bailey – SS
8. Austin Dayton – 3B
9. Nicolas Keister – CF
Starting Pitcher: RHP Mark Michael

Tusculum Starting Lineup

1. Ryan Addington – CF
2. Jimmy Rice – SS
3. Brandon Roberts – 3B
4. Paul Kirby – 1B
5. Cade Snapp – LF
6. Ian Pung – RF
7. Hunter Wood – DH
8. Trever Lee – 2B
9. Zach Gentry – C
Starting Pitcher: RHP Grant Rabbits

KING HIGHLIGHTS

• Douglas led the Tornado with three hits, going 3-for-6 from the leadoff spot.
• Whitt drove in three on two hits, including his fourth home run of the season.
• Hencken, Bailey and Dayton all chipped in with two hits.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagle offense got going in the first inning, plating four runs on three hits. Pung had the big blow, a two-out, two-run home run.
• Carson-Newman added two runs in each of the second and third innings, stretching their lead to 8-0.
• It could have been worse, but the Tornado got out of a jam, leaving the bases loaded in the third, giving their offense a chance to come back.
• The Tornado used that momentum in the top of the fourth inning as Whitt got the offense going with a one-out home run. King then loaded the bases before Bailey recorded a hit to drive in one.
• Dayton drove in one with a sacrifice fly before King got two-out run scoring hits from Keister, Douglas and Hencken. Whitt then evened the score at 8-8 with a two-run double to right center.
• However, the Eagles regained the lead when Snapp led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run.
• Lee gave Carson-Newman a 10-8 lead with a run scoring single in the sixth, and the score remained the same until the ninth inning.
• King loaded the bases in the top of the ninth when Keister rolled a groundball to second base. The Eagles got one out at second, made a throwing error that allowed two runs to score, evening the tally at 10-10.
• In the bottom of the ninth, Lee drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on an infield single. He then scored on a Rice single to left center, giving Carson-Newman the 11-10 victory.

FOR THE FOES

• The top three batters in the Carson-Newman lineup, Addington, Rice and Roberts along with Lee all recorded three hits for the Eagles.
• Rice drove in three to lead the Eagle offense.
• Snapp and Pung both accounted for two hits and two runs batted in.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Raunel Perez (1-0) 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Nathan Helke (0-2) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

UP NEXT

• King returns to Conference Carolinas action this weekend when they travel to the University of Mount Olive. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.
• Carson-Newman hosts Shorter University on Wednesday.