BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball team picked up a pair of wins over Chowan University on Thursday. The Tornado cruised to a comfortable 12-0 win in game one and secured a comeback victory in game two, winning 7-5.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 12, Chowan 0; King 7, Chowan 5
LOCATION: King Baseball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 6-7, 5-5 Conference Carolinas; Chowan 0-14, 0-14 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
- Jarrett Backus paced the Tornado offense with four hits on the day. He went 4-for-6 on the day while also driving in one run.
- Connor Andrews also tallied four hits, one of which was a double.
- Bennett McCann posted three hits as he drove home two runs. He also scored four times over the course of the day.
- Junior Renwick picked up a pair of runs batted in on three hits. His home run in game two put the game out of reach as King picked up their second victory of the day.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- King got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first.
- The Tornado started things off in the bottom of the first inning. Renwick scored after a Truman Roper single brought him home.
- Roper then scored for the second run of the game after Austin Meyer hit a sacrifice fly to center field.
- Renwick got back in the action in the bottom of the second as he flew out to center field to bring home Backus.
- King added four runs in the bottom of the third, starting with a McCann single to bring home Andrews.
- The duo of Backus and McCann combined for the sixth run of the game. McCann strolled home after an attempt to throw out Backus as he stole second.
- Backus scored again in the bottom of the third to extend the Tornado lead to 7-0.
- King poured the offense on in the bottom of the fourth. McCann singled through the left side to drive in Roper.
- The highlight of the day came a few moments later as Deric Graham belted a grand slam over the left field to wall to seal the victory in game one for the Tornado. Graham's game-high four runs batted in put the finishing touches on a 12-0 victory in game one.
- Braden White earned the shutout victory, his first of the season.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Braden White (1-1) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Shade Rademacher (0-4) 3.0 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Both pitchers retired the side in the first inning to begin game two.
- Dallas Trevena picked up the first Chowan run of the day, scoring off a single from Justin Winslow.
- King threatened by loading the bases with a trio of singles in the bottom of the second, but Chowan turned an inning-ending double play to avoid giving up any runs.
- The Hawks added to their lead in the top of the third as Trevena drove in a pair runs after he singled to left center.
- The Tornado got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. A single from Backus down the right field line brought home Backus.
- Chowan added a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 5-1. Christopher Allen and Ty Johnson drove in runs on back-to-back at bats to take a four-run lead into the bottom half of the sixth.
- Miscues from the Hawks in the bottom of the sixth plagued them as King scored a trio of runs. It started when a fielding error from the Hawks allowed Davis Hall to come home.
- David Carnicella laid down a sacrifice bunt during the very next at bat to bring home Backus.
- Graham then scored on a balk to cut the deficit to 5-4.
- The Tornado added another pair of unearned runs in the bottom seventh. Meyer scored after a sacrifice fly from Hall. McCann then came shortly after, following a wild pitch from the Hawks.
- Renwick sealed the deal in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff homerun to left center to give the Tornado the 7-5 victory in game two.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Nic Blankenship (1-1) 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Welinton Mariano (0-1) 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Brock Cross led the Hawks with a 3-for-5 performance on the day, all of which game in game two.
- Noah Evington and Tyler Jones each added three hits on the day while also scoring one run.
- Dallas Trevena picked up a pair hits to accompany two runs that he drove in.
UP NEXT
- These two teams continue their four-game series with another doubleheader tomorrow. First pitch on Friday is yet to be dermined.
