HICKORY, N.C. – The King University softball team took their first road trip of the season and dropped a pair of contests to Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Bears used solid pitching in each game, taking game one 6-0 and game wo 6-0.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lenoir-Rhyne 6, King 0; Lenoir-Rhyne 6, King 0
LOCATION: Bears Field; Hickory, N.C.
RECORDS: King 2-2; Lenoir-Rhyne 4-5
KING HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- The Tornado ran into a hot pitcher in Lauren Rakes in the early going as she retired the first nine batters she faced.
- Marleigh Duncan nearly matched her pitch-for-pitch, working around a pair of singles in each of the first two innings to keep the contest scoreless.
- The Lenoir-Rhyne offense came alive in the third with a leadoff double followed by an infield single.
- The Bears took the lead on a sacrifice fly and added another on an error to take a 2-0 lead.
- Erin Foster worked a leadoff walk in the fourth but Rakes then retired the next three batters to keep the Tornado scoreless.
- Lenoir-Rhyne added another in the fourth on a Lora Beth Wood home run.
- Tinsley Thompson recorded the first hit for the Tornado, ripping a double in the fifth inning.
- However, she was stranded there.
- Lenoir-Rhyne added three in the sixth, highlighted by a two-run double from Savannah Moorefield, giving the Bears a 6-0 lead.
- Lauren Lawson came up with a one-out single for the Tornado in the seventh, but that was it as Lenoir-Rhyne took the contest 6-0.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Lauren Rakes (2-1) 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 SO
Losing Pitcher: Marleigh Duncan (1-1) 6.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Game two was much the same as game one as the Bears received solid starting pitching.
- Lenoir-Rhyne grabbed the lead with two runs I the first inning, one unearned.
- The score remained the same as Carly Turner tried to get the Tornado offense going in the fourth inning with a one-out double.
- However, she was stranded there as the Bears kept the 2-0 lead.
- The Tornado deficit grew to 6-0 in the sixth inning when the Bears scored four runs, highlighted by a two-run double from Cassidy Wall.
- King was retired in order in the seventh as Lenoir-Rhyne took the contest 6-0.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Morgan Beeler (2-3) 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
Losing Pitcher: Nikole Counts (0-1) 6.0 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Moorefield led Lenoir-Rhyne with four hits and three runs batted in.
- Wood and Katelyn Rackard each accounted for three hits.
UP NEXT
- King travels to Carson-Newman University on Friday and Saturday. The Tornado will take on the host Eagles at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and West Virginia State University at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
- Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Southern New Hampshire University on Friday and UNC Pembroke on Saturday.
