Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team continued their hot play of late, winning their fourth game in their last five chances. The Tornado fell behind Lincoln Memorial University early, but used timely hitting as all six of their runs came with two outs in their 6-4 victory over the Railsplitters.
Lincoln Memorial (18-17) grabbed the lead in the third inning on a Nick Morabito two-run home run to left center. However, Braden Cook started a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame with a single through the left side. Jose Sola followed with another single, moving Cook to third. Ryan Whitt drove in Cook with a double down the left field line to get King (17-16) on the board.
The Tornado then grabbed the lead in the fourth inning as Josh Stephens sparked a two-out rally with a single up the middle before stealing second and third. He later scored on a wild pitch and Tyler Raymond walked to get another rally going. The senior then stole second and scored on a Cook single to left. Cook later scored on a Sola double to give King a 4-2 lead after four innings.
The Tornado added an insurance run on a J.P. Castaneda two-out double that scored Mark Michael in the fifth and Cook drove in Stephens with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, giving King a 6-2 lead.
However, the Railsplitters added a run in the seventh and another in the eighth, cutting their deficit to 6-4 before King brought in Nathan Helke for the save in the ninth inning. The junior got the first two outs before things got interesting. Lincoln Memorial got back-to-back hits and a walk to load the bases. However, Helke then got a strike to end the game, and earn his 10th save of the season. With the save, Helke moves into a tie for the lead in NCAA Division II in saves this season.
Stephens went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Cook went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and two runs scored to lead the King offense. Sola also accounted for two hits, going 2-for-4 with one run batted in. Jason Nebrat earned his third win of the season, tossing three innings in relief.
King returns to the diamond on Wednesday when they host Lenoir-Rhyne University at 3:00 p.m.
