MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The King University baseball team dropped a pair of tight games at the University of Mount Olive. The Tornado fell in game one 3-0 before dropping game two 8-7.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Mount Olive 3, King 0; Mount Olive 8, King 7
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 24-16, 10-12 Conference Carolinas; Mount Olive 29-11-1, 17-4 Conference Carolinas

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

• J.P. Castaneda led the way offensively, recording three hits, including his second home run of the season.
• Bubba Ruiz and Tyler Bailey also posted three hits each, with Bailey ripping a double and Ruiz driving in a pair.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Tornado faced one of the top pitchers in the league, German Reyes, but King had a pair of runners in the first inning. However, King couldn't come up with a hit to score them.
• Following a leadoff double in the third inning, Mount Olive manufactured a run on a groundout to take a 1-0 lead.
• King again had a pair of runners in the fourth inning, but still couldn't come up with a hit off Reyes.
• The Trojans scored a run on an error in the fourth inning and another on a Jose Lopez single to take a 3-0 lead.
• Castaneda record King's first hit when he led off the sixth inning with a single to left field.
• However that was the only hit the Tornado would get in the game, falling 3-0.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: German Reyes (6-0) 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO
Losing Pitcher: Boyd (5-4) 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Mount Olive grabbed the lead with a run in the first inning on a Justin Carroll single through the left side.
• King had a chance to take the lead in the second inning, but the Tornado left the bases loaded.
• The Trojans extended their lead to 2-0 following a Carroll double and Nate Estes single in the third inning before King got on the board.
• With two runners on, Castaneda ripped a home run in the fourth inning, vaulting King into a 3-2 lead.
• However, Mount Olive answered with two runs on a single and double in the fourth inning, taking a 4-3 lead.
• Austin Meyer walked to start the King half of the sixth inning and later scored on an error to even the score at 4-4.
• Mount Olive broke the tie when they scored three runs on one hit and three errores in the seventh inning, opening up a 7-4 lead.
• The Tornado deficit grew to 8-4 following a Trojan run in the eighth inning, but the Tornado didn't give up.
• Bailey started a rally with a one-out double and Hunter Barbour followed with a single that scored Bailey.
• Later in the inning, Ruiz ripped a two-run double that scored Ashton King and Kevin Barbato, pulling the Tornado within 8-7.
• However, the Trojans got the final out, taking the contest 8-7.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Reed Parris (4-2) 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Matt Henshaw (1-1) 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Save: Zach Vennaro (9) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO

FOR THE FOES

• The trio of Drew Ellis, Carroll and Trae Sweeting led seven Trojans with at least two hits, all recording three hits on the day.
• Lopez drove in three to lead Mount Olive and Estes drove in a pair.

UP NEXT

• King is scheduled to travel to UVa-Wise on Tuesday with first pitch at 4:00 p.m. The Tornado then travel to Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday.
• Mount Olive hosts Chowan University on Tuesday and Wednesday.