BRISTOL, Tenn. — The King University baseball team opened their 2022 season in a big way Friday afternoon, sweeping Emory & Henry College in a doubleheader.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 5, Emory & Henry 4; King 9, Emory & Henry 4
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 2-0; Emory & Henry 0-2
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior Renwick went 5-of-6 on the day, with two doubles and a triple along with three runs batted in.
- Jarrett Backus was 2-of-4, with a double.
- Robbie Scott went 3-of-7, including his first collegiate home run in game two.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- The Tornado jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, with Renwick, Scott and Jack Flanagan all picking up RBI hits, with Scott's being a triple into the left-center field gap to score Renwick.
- After the Wasps scored a run in the third and three in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead, the Tornado came alive in the bottom of the frame, as Ethan Hawkins drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a Truman Roper single into left field, with Roper taking second on the throw.
- Backus picked up an RBI with a groundout to the second baseman, tying the game at 4.
- Renwick was the next batter, and ripped a single into left field, scoring Roper and giving King a 5-4 lead.
- The Wasps threatened to score in the sixth, when Jared Foley drew a one-out walk before stealing second. He would end up left at second as Miguel Rosado induced a pair of flyouts to end the inning.
- Nic Blankenship came on to throw the seventh and recorded a quick strikeout before allowing a single.
- A stolen base and infield hit later, Emory & Henry had runners on the corners, but Blankenship induced a double play ball that narrowly beat the runner to first, ending the game and handing King their first win of the season.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Drew Moore (1-0) 5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Luke Kennedy (0-1) 5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Save: Nic Blankenship (1) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- It was the Wasps who struck first in the second game, as they strung together three hits to score a run, taking a 1-0 lead.
- King scored two of their own in the bottom of the inning, as Connor Andrews doubled into left-center field to score Renwick and Backus.
- Davis Hall hit a double a short time later, this one going into right field and scoring Andrews.
- King added two more runs in the second, with Backus and Scott getting RBI singles.
- In the third, Zachary Thomas hit a two-out double down the right field line, then used a pair of wild pitches to come around and score, making it 6-1 King.
- The fourth inning is where King did significant damage, scoring three runs on three hits, including a long home run off the bat of Robbie Scott that busted the game open, with King leading 9-3.
- Emory & Henry would get base runners in the final few innings, and scored a run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly, but were unable to shorten the gap any further, as HALE induced a strikeout looking to end the game, with King winning 9-4.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Ray Berry (1-0) 5.2 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
Losing Pitcher: Will Jennings (0-1) 3.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Eli Milhorn and Jared Foley both went 4-of-7 on the day, with Foley scoring three runs.
- Milhorn, McCray Sawyers and Hayden Milley all had two runs batted in.
UP NEXT
- The two teams will play another doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the King Baseball Field with first pitch set for 12:00 p.m.
