BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University softball team picked up two walk-off wins Friday afternoon, as
Carly Turner hit a walk-off home run in the first game of the day before
Lauren Lawson ended the second game with a walk-off of her own.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 4, Lander 2; King 3, Lander 2 (8 innings)
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 31-15; Lander 31-11
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Rikkelle Miller was 2-for-6, with a double and three RBI, while also scoring the game-winning run in game two.
- Turner had a big day both at the plate and in the circle, going 3-for-8 at the plate with her game-winning home run and throwing a complete game on the mound, allowing two earned runs with eight strikeouts.
- Nikole Counts also threw a complete game, going the full eight innings, allowing one earned runs on 10 hits while striking out three.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- After both teams went down in order in the first, the Bearcats scored first, using a pair of walks and a hit to take a 1-0 lead.
- Lander added to the lead in the fourth, with a two-out double to right-center field that scored a run before having the batter thrown out at third base to end the inning.
- In the bottom of the fifth, Erin Foster and Haylee Dye reached on back-to-back singles, with both of them scoring when Miller laced a double to right field, tying the game at two.
- Lander got the go-ahead run on base in the top of the seventh, but a pair of strikeouts ended the inning.
- In the bottom of the inning, Dye stepped up and led off with a infield single, setting Turner up to take the seventh pitch of the at-bat and hitting a home run to left field, giving the Tornado the 4-1 victory.
OF RECORD
- Winning Pitcher: Carly Turner (9-1) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
- Losing Pitcher: Olivia Veidt (1-1) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Turner picked up in game two right where she left off in game one, hitting a two-out single before advancing to second on a wild pitch.
- Miller then hit a single of her own, taking this one to center field to score Turner and give the Tornado an early 1-0 lead, with Miller advancing to second on the throw.
- The top of the fourth was a big inning for the Bearcats, as they scored both their runs to take a 2-1 lead.
- That was the score in the bottom of the sixth, where Miller drew a leadoff walk, advancing to third on a throwing error by the third baseman.
- Peyton Day stepped up to the plate and recorded her second hit of the day, a single to right field that allowed Miller to score the tying run.
- After neither team was able to score in the seventh, Lander got a runner to third in the top of the eighth, but a pair of flyouts to center and right field ended their scoring threat.
- The bottom of the inning didn't look promising for the Tornado, as the first two batters struck out, which brought Lawson to the plate.
- She hit a popup to the shortstop that was dropped, allowing Miller to slide across the plate with the game-winning run, handing King a series sweep over the Bearcats.
OF RECORD
- Winning Pitcher: Nikole Counts (13-7) 8.0 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
- Losing Pitcher: Barbra Cook (2-1) 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Haven Pesce led the Bearcats offense, going 4-for-6 with a double and a pair of RBI.
- Liz Gollin had a solid day in the circle for Lander, throwing six innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- This is now the fifth time in program history that King has cleared the 30-win mark, and the first time in the Jake Cockerham era. The last time it happened was 2018, when they went 36-22.
- Miller now has a hitting streak of 14 games, and a reached base streak of 21 consecutive games.
UP NEXT
- King starts the final spring to the postseason Wednesday, when they host Southern Wesleyan to start a week where they will play three home doubleheaders.
- Lander will host Young Harris next weekend in a three-game Peach Belt Conference series.
