BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University softball team fell in both games in their final home doubleheader of the season against Barton on Sunday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Barton 6 – King 1 | Barton 5 – King 2
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 26-20, 13-9 CC | Barton 23-21, 9-13 CC
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME ONE
- Barton got on the board in the first inning. King matched in the bottom half of the inning as Katie Ryan lead off with a single to right field before scoring on a Tori Ryan double to right center.
- Barton then scored five runs in the top of the second inning. The lead of 6-1 in the middle of the second inning would stand to be the final as both teams would be scoreless for the remainder of the game.
KING HIGHLIGHTS – GAME ONE
- Tori Ryan went 2-3 with a double and an RBI in the first inning.
- Katie Ryan, Grace Shary, and Alena Demakas had the three other hits for the Tornado in the first game. Shary also had a stolen base.
- Sophia Waters came in as relief in the circle, going five scoreless innings. She allowed just three hits, walked on batter, and struck out five.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME TWO
- King got on the board first. K. Ryan led off with a four-pitch walk before Alyssa Suits sent her to third with a double. K. Ryan then scored on a T. Ryan sacrifice fly.
- Barton tied the game in the top of the second before expanding the lead to 4-1 in the top of the third inning.
- Suits hit a solo home run to left field to get a run back but that would be King's final run of the game.
- In the top of the fifth, Barton loaded the bases with no outs, but back-to-back strike outs, King closed the inning as Aviah Bunsic caught a pop-out at short stop to prevent the Bulldogs from scoring.
- Barton scored in the top of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead – and would keep that lead for the rest of the game.
KING HIGHLIGHTS – GAME TWO
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher
Kierstin Cooper – Barton (11-11) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO
Emily Bobo – Barton (5-4) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 8 SO
Losing Pitcher
Savana Luper – King (10-7) 2.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Kaylee Meeks – King (3-5) 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
UP NEXT
The Tornado will conclude the season on the road. Their first stop will be tomorrow at Lenoir-Rhyne for a doubleheader beginning at 3:00pm.
