Box Score HICKORY, N.C. – Following a doubleheader sweep on Monday, the King University baseball team was in action on the road again on Tuesday, this time against Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Tornado took the lead early and used seven pitchers to make those runs stand up, taking the nonconference affair 5-1.
Jose Sola started a one-out rally in the first inning with a single to left center and Tyler Raymond followed with a single to right field. Sola then came around to score on a Bear error, give King an early 1-0 lead.
The Tornado (9-12) tacked on two more in the second as Preston Douglas started the frame with a walk and was sacrificed to second by J.P. Castaneda. Braden Cook then laced a two-out single to center that scored Douglas and Sola ripped a triple to center, giving King a 3-0 lead.
Lenoir-Rhyne (12-10) got on the board in the third when Read Brown started the frame with a double. He later scored on a Marcus Shoemaker single, cutting their deficit to 3-1. However, Jason Nebrat escaped further damage, getting a foul out and strikeout to end the frame.
The Tornado added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Douglas started the sixth with a double and scored on a Castaneda single before Ryan Whitt ripped his second home run of the season in the seventh to give King a 5-1 lead.
From there, the King pitching staff finished off then 5-1 victory. Grant Boyd earned the start and tossed two innings before Nebrat relieved him for one inning. Matt Jackson and Heath Loyd combined for three innings before Mark Michael, Sola and Nathan Helke tossed the final three frames. Nebrat earned the win for the Tornado. Offensively, Sola went 2-for-5, scoring once and driving in another while Douglas scored twice.
King is scheduled to be in action again this weekend. However, with rain scheduled in the forecast for Franklin Springs, Ga., the opening game of the Conference Carolinas series on Friday has been postponed. The teams are scheduled to start at a doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday if the weather cooperates.
