Box Score MARS HILL, N.C. – The King University baseball team kept their offense rolling after Tuesday's win with another victory in a high scoring contest. The Tornado put up 13 runs, hit back-to-back home runs and Ryan Whitt hit for the cycle in King's 13-11 win over Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 13, Lincoln Memorial 11
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 7-7; Lincoln Memorial 9-4
TIME OF GAME: 2:41
King Starting Lineup
1. Josh Stephens – CF
2. Mark Hencken – DH
3. Ryan Whitt – LF
4. Ryan Sattz – 1B
5. Moises Soto – C
6. Tyler Bailey – SS
7. J.P. Castaneda – 3B
8. Preston Douglas – RF
9. Joe Ganger – 2B
Starting Pitcher: RHP Brandon Barbour
Mars Hill Starting Lineup
1. Seth Hunt – SS
2. H.D. Dillard – RF
3. Logan Augustine – 1B
4. Eric Kalman – DH
5. Wes Neiderland – CF
6. Mason Ewers – LF
7. Jean Rodriguez – 2B
8. Danny Valdez – 3B
9. Joe Stucky – C
Starting Pitcher: RHP Zac Butler
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Whitt highlight for the Tornado offense, hitting for the cycling in order. He started with a single up the middle in the first, followed it with a two-run double in the second before lacing a triple to right center in the fourth inning.
- He capped his day with a home run over the Jersey Mike's sign in left field in the sixth. Whitt ended the day going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and five runs batted in.
- Ganger added a pair of hits and drove in three, a day after hitting the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning at Mars Hill University.
- Sattz followed Whitt's home run with a blast of his own in the sixth inning.
- Barbour threw a solid six innings for the Tornado, scattering seven hits and allowing four runs, two earned on 76 pitches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lincoln Memorial tallied a pair of unearned runs in the first inning, and held that lead until the second inning.
- Soto started the King offense in the second inning with a single, and Bailey followed with another single. Preston Douglas drove in one with a bases loaded single and Ganger was hit by a pitch to dive in another.
- After King scored one more, Whitt laced a two-run double to right center, giving the Tornado a 5-2 lead after two.
- King added three in the fourth to take an 8-2 lead. Hencken drove in one with a sacrifice fly and Whitt ripped a triple that plated another.
- The Railsplitters cut into their deficit each of the next two innings, scoring single runs, but the Tornado tried to put the game out of reach in the sixth inning.
- King plated five more runs in the sixth, started by a single from Hencken. Whitt followed with a home run on the first pitch, and Sattz laced the next pitch out of the park, giving King an 11-4 lead. The Tornado plated two more runs in the frame, opening up a 13-4 advantage.
- However, the Railsplitters worked their way back in the eighth inning, scoring seven runs with only one being earned. Lincoln Memorial recorded five hits in the frame, and took advantage of three King errors. Nathan Helke entered the contest to get the final two outs of the frame and strand a pair of Railsplitters.
- Helke then sat the Railsplitters down in order in the seventh, earning his fifth save of the season, giving King the 13-11 victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Augustine led the Railsplitters with three hits, going 3-for-5 and scoring once.
- Kalman went 2-for-4 and twice while Mason Ewers drove in a pair.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The cycle for Whitt is the first for King since 2014 when Geoff Cieslewitz hit for the cycle on March 4 at Mars Hill.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Barbour (1-0) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Save: Helke (5) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Butler (2-1) 4.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
UP NEXT
- King stays at home to host Belmont Abbey College in a Conference Carolinas series this weekend. Game one is slated for 2:30 p.m. on Friday while the series concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader a 12:00 p.m.
- The Railsplitters travel to take on 19th-ranked Newberry College on Friday and Saturday.
