SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The King University softball team earned a Conference Carolinas sweep on Monday afternoon at Converse College. The Tornado took game one 9-0 before winning the nightcap 3-2.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 9, Converse 0; King 3, Converse 2
LOCATION: Tyger River Complex; Spartanburg, S.C.
RECORDS: King 20-10, 12-4 Conference Carolinas; Converse 5-32; 2-14 Conference Carolinas
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Rikkelle Miller led the offense with four hits and three runs scored.
- Meagan Puckett drove in four on three hits, including a home run.
- Chelsea Sams and Carly Turner drove in two runs apiece while Samantha Helms posted two hits.
- Sams had the go-ahead hit in the sixth inning of game two, a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
- In the circle, Turner recorded 12 strikeouts in game two.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Turner got King on the board in the first inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Haylee Dye, who started the game with a single.
- The Tornado lead grew to 6-0 with five runs in the third inning.
- Turner again drove in Dye, this time with a single before scoring on a Tinsley Thompson groundout to highlight the inning.
- In the fourth inning, Miller drove in Dye with a single before scoring on a Puckett home run, giving King a 9-0 lead.
- That was all the Tornado pitching tandem of Nikole Counts and Emma Hughes need as Hughes worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning, including a pair of strikeouts to give King the win.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Nikole Counts (11-4) 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jordan Moore (1-12) 3.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Converse took a 2-0 lead with a pair of unearned run in the second inning.
- The Tornado offense struggled to get anything going on the early innings as Reagan Owens kept the hitters off balance.
- King finally broke through in the fourth inning following a Helms leadoff single.
- She later scored on a Puckett single, cutting the Tornado deficit in half.
- Miller singled to start the sixth inning, and later scored on Sams' home run, giving King a 3-2 lead.
- Converse threatened to even the score in the seventh inning with a pair of two-out hits, but Marleigh Duncan came in and closed the door, giving King the 3-2 victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Carly Turner (7-5) 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 SO
Losing Pitcher: Reagan Owens (2-15) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
Save: Marleigh Duncan (5) 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Moriah Gomez led Covnerse with four hits, including a double.
- She also drove in one while Kayla Rocha drove in the Valkyries' other run.
UP NEXT
- King is in action on Tuesday at eighth-ranked Lincoln Memorial University. First pitch from Harrogate, Tenn. is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
- Converse travels to Southern Wesleyan University on Friday.
