BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team split their Conference Carolinas doubleheader with Southern Wesleyan Saturday, taking the first game behind a complete-game shutout from
Drew Moore before dropping the second game.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 3, Southern Wesleyan 0; Southern Wesleyan 9, King 8
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 9-10, 2-9 Conference Carolinas; Southern Wesleyan 9-13, 5-4 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior Renwick was 5-for-8 at the plate, with a triple, three RBI and three runs scored.
- Chase Hilliard hit a home run in game two, finishing 1-for-5, with four RBI.
- Moore threw seven innings in game one, allowing no runs on four hits with four strikeouts.
- Coming on in relief in game two, Ray Berry threw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- All the scoring came in the fifth. Patrick Corley led off with a walk before being retired when Conner Hyatt hit into a fielder's choice.
- After Hyatt advanced to second on a passed ball, Davis Hall drew a walk, putting two runners on for Renwick, who ripped a triple into left center field, scoring both runners and putting King in front 2-0.
- The next batter was Preston Steele, who singled to left field, allowing Renwick to score and stretch the lead to 3-0.
- Moore issued a one-out walk in the sixth, but was able to induce a ground ball double play to escape the inning before shutting the Warriors down in order in the seventh to close the game.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Drew Moore (3-2) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Cord Babcock (2-5) 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- King struck right away in the bottom of the first, as Hyatt led off with a triple, scoring when Ethan Hawkins hit a single to the shortstop.
- A few batters later, Renwick hit a single to right field, scoring Hawkins and giving the Tornado an early 2-0 lead.
- The Warriors started to chip away, scoring a run in the top of the second before adding three in the third to take a 4-2 lead.
- King would come storming back in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on three hits, including Hilliard's second home run of the season, a three-run shot that propelled the Tornado back into the lead. Wes Bonney also picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
- Southern Wesleyan would re-take the lead in the fourth, putting five more runs on the board to take a 9-6 advantage.
- In the sixth, King got one of those runs back, as Corley picked up his first career hit, a single into right field.
- After he stole second, he scored on a Hyatt RBI single, bringing the Tornado to within 9-7.
- The Tornado would add another run in the eighth when Renwick led off with a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch and moving to third on a ground out.
- Renwick would score when Hilliard hit a sacrifice fly, making the score 9-8.
- King would threaten in the ninth, as Davis Hall led off with a double, but he would be left stranded at third, ending the game with SWU taking a narrow 9-8 win.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Josh Fenton (2-0) 2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
Losing Pitcher: Grant Carlton (1-2) 3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Save: George Schodowski (1) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Tyler Jackson was 3-for-6 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
- Marcerio Allen and Cam Mitchens both hit home runs on the day, with Allen driving in a total of three runs.
- Schodowski threw in both games, totaling 3.1 innings, allowing no runs on one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will continue their homestand Tuesday when they host Tusculum in a nonconference contest before hosting No. 1 North Greenville next Friday and Saturday.
- Southern Wesleyan will kick off a four-game homestand Tuesday when they host Georgia College before hosting UNC Pembroke next weekend.
