Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BRISTOL, Tenn. – Don't quit until the last out is recorded, the King University softball team didn't against seventh-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University and the Tornado came away with a pair of walk-off wins. Katie McCann laced a two-run double in the seventh inning of game one, giving King the 2-1 win while Hannah Riddle drove in the game winning run in the eighth inning of game two.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 2, #7 Lenoir-Rhyne 1; King 4, #7 Lenoir-Rhyne 3 (F/8)
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 27-17; Lenoir-Rhyne 42-7
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- McCann led the way, ripping three hits on the day, scoring twice and driving two.
- Riddle and Jenna Burnett also drove in runs for the Tornado.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Lenoir-Rhyne threatened with a pair of hits in the first inning, and a pair of runners in the second, but Leslie Odom got out of both jams to keep the game scoreless.
- The Tornado threatened in the third with a pair of runners, but Bear pitcher Brandi Parks got out of the jam.
- Lenoir-Rhyne got on the board with a two-out home run from Mackensi Swain in the fifth inning.
- The score remained the same until Kaycee Casteel started the seventh inning with a bunt single.
- Candace Maness followed with an infield single, and following a sacrifice bunt, McCann laced a double down the left field line.
- That scored both runners and gave King the 2-1 win.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Leslie Odom (14-6) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Brandi Parks (19-4) 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- The Bears got on the board two batters into game two as Savannah Moorefield singled and Madison Poe double to put the Bears up 1-0.
- Emma Hughes then stranded a Bear runner at third to bring King to the plate.
- King answered in the bottom half as Burnett ripped a two-out single up the middle that score Riddle, evening the score.
- The Tornado grabbed the lead in the second inning when McCann singled to score Maness.
- McCann then stole second and scored on a throwing error, extending the King lead to 3-1.
- Lenoir-Rhyne evened the score in the fifth inning on a pair of unearned runs, and the score remained the same through seven innings.
- In the eighth, Lenoir-Rhyne put runners on the corners with one out, but Rachel Farmer got a pair of groundouts, ending the threat.
- With the runner placed on second, Riddle ripped the first pitch she saw in the eighth in to the right centerfield gap, scoring McCann and giving King the 4-3 win.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Rachel Farmer (5-2) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Emily Kenley (21-3) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Moorefield posted three hits on the day and score twice.
- Erin Boone posted two hits in game two.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King is now 3-1 against ranked teams this season with their other win coming against 20th-ranked Carson-Newman University to start the season.
- That marks King's second and third wins against top 10 teams, the other one came last year at Lenoir-Rhyne.
- King is 7-10 all-time against NCAA Division II ranked teams, and they have won seven of their last nine games against ranked teams.
- The sweep for King marks the first time since February 3-4 that the Bears have lost consecutive games.
- King ended the Bears' 16-game winning streak with the wins. A season ago, the Tornado defeated Lenoir-Rhyne, ending their 20-game winning streak.
- The last time Lenoir-Rhyne was swept in a doubleheader was March 22, 2017 when they fell to Wingate University.
UP NEXT
- King travels to Lees-McRae College on Saturday for a key Conference Carolinas twinbill. The action is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.
- Lenoir-Rhyne is in action again on April 27-28 at the South Atlantic Conference Championship.
