BELMONT, N.C. – The King University softball team dropped a pair of one-run games Saturday afternoon to Belmont Abbey College, including a seventh inning walk-off in the second game of the day.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Belmont Abbey 6, King 5; Belmont Abbey 2, King 1
LOCATION: Crusader Field; Belmont, N.C.
RECORDS: King 26-14, 10-6 Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 24-9, 11-5 Conference Carolinas
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Erin Foster hit a pair of home runs for King, finishing 3-for-6.
- Rikkelle Miller stayed hot, hitting a home run and a double, finishing with three RBI
- Nikole Counts threw six innings in the second game, allowing one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Both teams scored in the first inning, with Foster leading off the game with a single to right-center field, advancing to second on a passed ball before scoring on a throwing error by the first baseman, giving King an early lead.
- The Crusaders scored two runs in the bottom of the first, with their first run coming on a double steal before an RBI single gave them a 2-1 lead.
- Belmont Abbey struck again in the fourth, scoring on an RBI single to center field to take a 3-1 lead.
- King responded in a big way in the top of the fifth, with two of the first three batters reaching base, setting up Miller to hit her 10th home run of the season, putting King in front 4-3.
- The Crusaders hit a home run of their own in the bottom of the inning, with this one being a two-run shot to center field to put them back in front, 5-4.
- In the sixth, Foster stepped up to the plate with two outs and hit her first home run of the day, sending the ball over the left center field fence to tie the game at 5.
- Belmont Abbey would score the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch, taking a 6-5 lead that would stand as the final score.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Abby Craver (11-5) 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Marleigh Duncan (7-6) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Save: Alannah Browne (1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- There wasn't much scoring in the second game, which was a true pitcher's duel.
- In the top of the first, Foster hit her second home run of the day, giving the Tornado an early 1-0 lead.
- They held that lead in the third, when the Crusaders got an RBI double into the right center field gap, allowing the game-tying run to score.
- King got a pair of baserunners in the fifth, with Foster reaching on a walk and Carly Turner hitting an infield single, but were unable to scratch across a the go-ahead run.
- In the sixth, the Tornado got runners to second and third, thanks to Tori Ryan reaching on an error and Lauren Lawson doubling, but both were stranded on the basepaths.
- The Crusaders won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh, as Hallie Mele hit a leadoff home run to left field, giving Belmont Abbey the 2-1 victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Alannah Browne (10-3) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Nikole Counts (11-7) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 Er, 1 BB, 4 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Cameron Cooper was 4-for-6 at the plate for Belmont Abbey, with four RBI and a home run.
- Mele was 2-for-4, with the walk-off home run.
- Browne picked up the save in the first game before earning the win in game two. She threw a total of 8 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits, with four strikeouts.
UP NEXT
- This was the final road game of the regular season for King, who will play their final 12 games at the King Softball Field, starting Tuesday when they host Lee University in a nonconference showdown.
- Belmont Abbey is on the road Tuesday, facing Emmanuel College before taking on Chowan Wednesday.
