WILSON, N.C. – The King University baseball team dropped a pair of tight contests at Barton College on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs took game one 8-4 before scoring two runs in the eighth inning of game two, handing King a 5-4 defeat.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Barton 8, King 4; Barton 5, King 4
LOCATION: Nixon Field; Wilson, N.C.
RECORDS: King 8-9, 7-7 Conference Carolinas; Barton 8-9, 7-5 Conference Carolinas
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Truman Roper started the contest with a single and later scored on a Thomas sacrifice fly to give King a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
- However, the Bulldogs answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
- Barton scored single runs on back-to-back singles before a walk pushed another in and a sacrifice fly made it a 4-1 Bulldog lead.
- Braydon Olson drove in another for Barton in the fifth, extending the Bulldog lead to 5-1.
- The King deficit grew to 7-1 following a pair of two-out RBI singles from Dylan Scaranda and Olson in the third inning.
- In the fifth inning, Meyer drove in Roper, who started the inning with a single before Thomas plated a pair with a single to left field.
- That cut the King deficit to 7-4, but Olson added another for the Bulldogs in the fifth to extend the Barton lead.
- The Tornado couldn't get the offense going in the final two innings as Barton took the game 8-4.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Alex Hart (2-3) 7.0 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
Losing Pitcher: Braden White (1-2) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 0 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- King jumped ahead in the third inning as a McCann sacrifice fly scored Deric Graham to get the Tornado on the board.
- Renwick then doubled to score Caleb Helms before a Meyer single scored Renwick and gave King a 3-0 lead.
- Graham stretched the Tornado lead to 4-0 following a Graham sacrifice fly in the fourth that scored Jarrett Backus.
- On the mound for the Tornado was Jake DeLisi who worked out of a jam to strand a pair before settling in.
- He retired eight straight Bulldog hitters before a single in the fourth. That single was erased thanks to a Tornado double play that ended the inning.
- Another King double play ended the fifth, but the Bulldogs broke through in the sixth inning.
- A pair of singles started the inning before a triple from Scaranda plated a pair.
- Olson then drove in Scaranda with a sacrifice fly, cutting the King lead to 4-3.
- The Tornado threatened for insurance runs in the eighth inning as they loaded the bases.
- However, the Bulldogs got out of the jam.
- In the bottom of the inning, Barton put two of the first three batters on base as a groundout scored one and evened the score.
- Pinch hitter Bradley McLean then came up with a single that scored Olson and gave Barton a 5-4 lead.
- The Tornado then went down in order in the ninth as Barton took the contest 5-4.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Colby Warren (1-0) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Losing Pitcher: Jake DeLisi (0-2) 7.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Olson led Barton with five hits and drove in five while scoring twice.
- Scaranda followed with three hits and four runs scored.
UP NEXT
- The series is scheduled to conclude with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
