Rome, Ga. – The King University baseball team came up short in its Conference Carolinas road series at Shorter University, dropping two of three games over the weekend. The Tornado opened the series with a 10–8 win on Saturday but fell 9–3 in game two and 7–4 in Friday's finale, resulting in a 2–1 series loss.
Game One – King 10, Shorter 8
King opened the doubleheader with an explosive offensive showing, scoring in four different innings on the way to a 10–8 victory. The Tornado struck first in the opening frame when Justin Smith doubled to left-center to score Logan Janney. Shorter answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half to tie the game 1–1.
King took control in the second inning as Janney launched a three-run home run to left, scoring Adrian Vidal and Mason Meinke for a 4–1 lead. Shorter cut the deficit to 4–3 in the third, but the Tornado responded with a four-run fifth inning. Kenny Hirschfeld delivered a three-run homer to left, and Vidal followed with a solo shot to extend the advantage to 8–3.
Shorter continued to apply pressure, scoring in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, but King added two crucial insurance runs in the seventh. Mitchell Victor was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Jacob Eargle, and Tommy Regan drew a walk to bring home Vidal, pushing the lead to 10–5. Shorter hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh, but Jonathan Webster closed the door to secure the win.
Rohde Kirkland earned the victory with 4.2 innings of work, while Webster recorded his first save of the season.
Game Two – Shorter 9, King 3
Shorter evened the doubleheader with a fast start in game two, scoring four runs in the first inning and adding another in the second for a 5–0 lead. King responded in the fifth with a three-run rally. Logan Janney singled to score Kenny Hirschfeld, Justin Smith walked with the bases loaded to bring home Adrian Vidal, and Tommy Regan was hit by a pitch to score Jose Ruiz, cutting the deficit to 5–3.
Shorter regained momentum in the seventh, scoring three runs on a series of wild pitches, and added a solo home run in the eighth to extend the lead to 9–3. King totaled nine hits in the game, including two each from Smith and Hirschfeld. Mitchell Kahlenberg took the loss, while Gavin True struck out 10 in relief.
Game Three – Shorter 7, King 4
In Friday's series finale, King battled but ultimately fell 7–4 as Shorter clinched the series. The Tornado jumped ahead early with two runs in the second inning and added three more in the fourth behind RBI hits from Kale Richardson and Misael Garcia. Shorter pulled within 5–4 in the sixth, then surged ahead with a three-run seventh inning.
King threatened late but couldn't push across additional runs, and Shorter held on to secure the 2–1 series victory.
King Highlights
- Justin Smith recorded four hits across the series, including two doubles and two RBI.
- Logan Janney homered in game one and drove in four runs on the weekend.
- Adrian Vidal homered, doubled, and scored four times in the series.
- Kenny Hirschfeld hit a three-run home run in the opener.
- King totaled 29 hits across the three games.
On the Mound
- Rohde Kirkland earned the win in game one.
- Jonathan Webster recorded his first save of the season.
- Gavin True struck out 10 in relief during game two.
- The King bullpen allowed just two earned runs over the final three innings of game three.
Up Next
King returns home on Tuesday, March 10, to take on Tusculum at 3:00 p.m.
