FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – The King University baseball team took their first Conference Carolinas series win of the year, defeating Emmanuel College on Saturday. In what was a see-saw affair, the Tornado scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break a tie and take the contest 11-10.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 11, Emmanuel 10
LOCATION: Franklin Springs, Ga.
RECORDS: King 8-9, 4-3 Conference Carolinas; Emmanuel 12-12, 5-7 Conference Carolinas
TIME OF GAME: 3:32

KING HIGHLIGHTS

• Ashton King and Hunter Barbour each registered three hits and two runs scored.
• Deric Graham laced his first home run and drove in three.
• Kevin Barbato drove in two while Tony Valdes scored four runs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• King got on the board in the top of the first inning with an unearned run as Valdes touched the plate.
• The Tornado struck again in the third inning when Barbato drove in a pair with a double.
• Graham laced a two-run home run in the fourth inning, extending the King lead to 5-0.
• In the fifth inning, Barbour drove in one with a double and David Carnicella followed with a single that scored another run.
• Chase Hilliard gave King an 8-0 lead with a squeeze bunt that scored Barbour.
• Emmanuel scored runs in the fifth and sixth inning before plating a pair on a double in the seventh to cut their deficit to 8-4.
• In the eighth, the Lions evened the score with four runs, the final two coming on a two-run double from Jorge Villalabos.
• Valdes started the ninth with a double for the King before the Tornado loaded the bases with one out.
• Following an out, Nathan Jaye worked a walk to put the Tornado on top. Graham was then hit by a pitch before Austin Meyer walked to give King an 11-8 lead.
• In the bottom half of the inning, Jake Nichols drove in one with an infield single before Quinn Tomainso pulled the Lions within one with a single.
• However, Joe Cottone got the final out for the Tornado, giving King the 11-10 win and series victory.

FOR THE FOES

• Tomasino led Emmanuel with three hits and scored twice.
• Kyle Gaura and Villalabos both drove in a pair.

OF RECORD

Winning Pitcher: Joe Cottone (2-0) 1.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Cody Waters (1-3) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO

UP NEXT

• King hosts Bluefield College on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
• Emmanuel hosts Shorter University on Tuesday.