MURFREESBORO, N.C. — The King University baseball team swept the Chowan University Hawks in a doubleheader Saturday, winning the first game 9-7 before thrashing the Hawks, 10-2 in the second game to sweep the three-game Conference Carolinas series.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 9, Chowan 7; King 10, Chowan 2
LOCATION: Hawkins Field; Murfreesboro, N.C.
RECORDS: King 21-19, 14-12 Conference Carolinas; Chowan 8-30, 3-25 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Robbie Scott went 6-for-9 on the day, with a home run and six RBI, along with a pair of stolen bases.
- Zachary Thomas was 4-for-7, with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored.
- Drew Moore tossed another fantastic performance in game two, going six innings, allowing no runs on just one hit with 11 strikeouts to pick up the win.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- The Tornado jumped on the Hawks starting pitcher early, scoring three runs in the top of the first, with Scott hitting an RBI single and Connor Andrews driving in a pair with a single to right field.
- The Hawks scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, all of which came on a home run to tie the game.
- King took a 4-3 lead in the second, when Scott picked up his second RBI single of the day, this one to center field to score Thomas.
- King added three more in the fifth, including a two-run home from off the bat of Thomas that stretched the lead to 7-3.
- The Hawks came battling back in the bottom of the inning, scoring four runs to tie the game at seven.
- Davis Hall led off the top of the sixth for King and took the fifth pitch of the at-bat and deposited it over the left center field fence, handing King an 8-7 lead.
- After setting the Hawks down in order in the bottom of the inning, King added an insurance run in the seventh, when Truman Roper picked up an RBI single to score Andrews.
- Nic Blankenship came on in the bottom of the frame and closed things out, recording a pair of strikeouts and leaving the bases loaded as the Tornado took the game, 9-7.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Trevor Beards (2-1) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 Er, 1 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Alex Brown (0-1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Save: Nic Blankenship (6) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- The game was scoreless entering the fifth, where Chase Hilliard hit his first home run of the season to put King up 1-0.
- That lead would increase in the sixth, when Jack Flanagan got in on the act and hit a home run of his own to make the score 2-0.
- After Hilliard drew a walk and Thomas doubled, Truman Roper picked up an RBI on a groundout to second to give King a 3-0 lead.
- The Tornado did most of their damage in the seventh, scoring seven runs on three hits.
- Thomas picked up a pair of RBI with a two-out single before Roper drew a walk to load the bases.
- After Davis Hall drew an RBI walk, Scott stepped up to the plate and blasted a grand slam, giving King a 10-0 lead.
- Chowan would score two of their own in the bottom of the seventh, but the Tornado bullpen was able to combine for three solid innings to pick up the series sweep.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Drew Moore (7-3) 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jarret Henderson (1-4) 5.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Tyler West went 2-for-6 at the plate, with a double, a home run and four RBI.
- Patrick Krack was also 2-for-6, with one RBI and a walk drawn.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will close the regular season next weekend when they face Francis Marion for a doubleheader Friday before a single game Saturday.
- Chowan will host Belmont Abbey in the final series of the regular season next weekend.
