BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team lost a pair of seven-inning contests against North Greenville University; the Crusaders are ranked eleventh in the country. North Greenville picked up a 12-2 victory in game one, followed by a 19-6 victory in a rain-shortened second game.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: North Greenville 12, King 2; North Greenville 19, King 6
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 11-18, 9-16 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 23-6, 17-5 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Deric Graham led the Tornado with a pair of hits as he drove in one run and also scored once.
- Ethan Hawkins and Harrison Barger each picked up a hit on the day and scored one run.
- Truman Roper tallied one hit on the afternoon, bringing in two runs and scoring twice.
- The duo of Bennett McCann and Rob Sari combined for four hits and a pair of runs as each player picked up two hits and scored once.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- North Greenville got on the board first when they scored a pair of runs in the top of the second. A single from Josh Senter drove in the first run of the day before coming around to score himself.
- King answered back in the bottom of the fourth as Graham singled to right field to bring Roper home.
- Pat Monteith's double in the top of the sixth brought in another Crusader run to push the advantage to three runs.
- A sacrifice fly from Ethan Stringer drove in another run for North Greenville and extended their advantage to 5-1 after the top half of the sixth inning.
- Sari was able to draw a bases-loaded walk that brought home Roper for King's second run of the game.
- North Greenville found a spark in the top of the seventh as they plated seven runs in the top half of the final inning to gain a double-digit advantage.
- A double that drove in two runs for the Crusaders was the finishing touches of a 12-2 for the visitors in game number one.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Logan Chapman (5-2) 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jake DeLisi (0-3) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Senter struck again in game two, blasting a two-run shot over the wall in left center to open the scoring and spark a six-run second inning for the Crusaders.
- Stringer followed suit as he recorded his second double of the day to drive in another run.
- A costly throwing error from King led to three more unearned runs, giving the Crusaders a 6-0 advantage after two innings of play.
- Jax Cash went yard in the top of the third, this time roping a three-run bomb to left field.
- Roper's double in the bottom of the fourth drove in two runs and sparked a three-run inning for the Tornado.
- North Greenville added four more runs in the top of the seventh to gain a 19-3 advantage before King gave one last fight.
- Sari scored on a wild pitch before McCann drove in Wes Bonney and David Carnicella with a single up the middle.
- The late push was not enough as the Tornado dropped two games against the nationally ranked Crusaders.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Reece Fields (4-0) 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Trevor Beards (2-3) 3.0 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Senter filled up that the stat sheet as he picked up four hits, one of which was a home run. He also drove in six runs and scored six times.
- Stringer tallied four hits, driving in six runs. He scored three times as well.
UP NEXT
- These two teams will meet again on Monday for another doubleheader that will conclude their four-game series. The latter half of this series was moved due to incoming weather. First pitch for game three on Monday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
