BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University softball team took their fourth straight doubleheader sweep, extending their winning streak to nine games on Friday afternoon. The Tornado defeated Erskine College 7-1 in game one before taking game two 14-2.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 7, Erskine 1; King 14, Erskine 2
LOCATION: King Softball Field; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 35-15, 16-6 Conference Carolinas; Erskine 12-23, 8-11 Conference Carolinas
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Erin Foster went 3-for-3 in game two and scored three runs while collecting a hit and two walks in game one.
- Samantha Helms, Tinsley Thompson, Carly Turner and Camryn Haag all hit home runs on the day.
- The home run was Helms' seventh of the year while Thompson ripped her first longball.
- Turner's was her team-leading 13th while Haag laced her seventh home run of the season.
- Thompson posted four hits on the day and scored three runs.
- Rikkelle Miller posted three hits and drove in two in game two.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Helms got the Tornado offense going in the second inning with a leadoff home run.
- Thompson followed later in the inning with a two-out shot that gave King a 2-0 lead.
- Erskine got one back in the third, but the Tornado responded in the bottom of the inning.
- Foster walked and Turner took the next pitch over the left field fence, giving King a 4-1 lead.
- Erskine threatened in the fourth, but Turner got a strikeout to leave the bases loaded.
- In the bottom of the inning, Thompson led off with a triple before scoring on a Delaney Porter single.
- Helms drove in Haylee Dye with a triple in the fifth before scoring on a Haag sacrifice bunt to give King a 7-1 advantage.
- Turner then recorded a pair of strikeouts in the seventh, giving her 10 on the day and ultimately giving King the 7-1 victory.
- The 10 strikeouts are the second most for Turner in a game this season.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Carly Turner (11-1) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 SO
Losing Pitcher: Kaley Ingle (9-11) 6.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- The Tornado offense erupted for nine runs on nine hits in the first inning, started by another Foster walk.
- Miller drove in a pair with a double before a Haag two-run home run gave King a 5-0 lead.
- A Helms infield single extended the Tornado lead to 9-0 after the first inning.
- Erskine scored one in the second, but King came back and tacked on five runs in the bottom of the inning.
- Turner drove in one with a groundout, before a single from Miller scored a pair. The ball was misplayed in center, allowing two more runs to score.
- That gave the Tornado a 14-1 lead.
- Faith Belue ripped a home run to center in the third, cutting the King lead to 14-2.
- However, that was all Erskine would score as Nikole Counts, Marleigh Duncan and Haley Mullins closed out the final three innings of the 14-2 King victory.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Nikole Counts (16-7) 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Payton Cox (1-3) 0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Brooke Patterson posted two hits on the day and Belue came up with a home run.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King now has 35 wins on the season, the second most in program history. The school record for wins in a season is 36, coming in 2018.
- The Tornado have also won nine straight games, the second longest streak in program history.
- King previously won 10 straight three different times, in 2006, 2013 and 2014.
UP NEXT
- King closes the regular season on Friday and Saturday with home doubleheaders against Erskine College and Emmanuel College. First pitch each day is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
- Southern Wesleyan travels to Chowan University on Friday and Barton College on Saturday.
