SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The King University Softball team split their first Conference Carolinas doubleheader of the season Saturday, falling to Converse 5-3 in game one before storming back to take a 16-4 win to close the day.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Converse 5, King 3; King, Converse
LOCATION: Tyger River Stadium; Duncan, S.C.
RECORDS: King 12-12, 0-1 Conference Carolinas; Converse 10-13, 1-0 Conference Carolinas
KING HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Campbell drew a walk to start the game and scored on an error to give the Tornado a 1-0 lead.
- Converse started the bottom of the inning with a single and stolen base before a sacrifice fly evened the score at 1-1.
- The Valkyries put runners on second and third with one out in the second, but Nikole Counts came up with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
- Lawson ripped a home run in the third inning to give the lead back to King before an Erin Foster single scored Campbell and gave King a 3-1 lead.
- Converse put two runners on in the third and fourth innings, but King got out the jam each time.
- Three straight one-out singles for the Valkyries plated a run before they took advantage of a King defensive miscue to even the score.
- A wild pitch then gave Converse a 4-3 lead.
- A pair of singles and groundout gave Converse and insurance in the sixth, taking a 5-3 lead.
- Lawson tried to get the King offense going with a two-out single the seventh, but that was it as Converse took the game 5-3.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Serrah Ballard (3-3) 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Losing Pitcher: Nikole Counts (0-6) 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Campbell and Dye started the nightcap with back-to-back singles, however, Converse got the next three outs to end the inning.
- King broke through in the second inning with a leadoff walk and a single. A Campbell one-out single later gave King a 1-0 lead before Thompson made it a 3-0 Tornado lead with a two-out, two-run single.
- Converse plated one run on a two-out single in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Tornado lead to 3-1.
- King left a pair on base in the third before adding two runs in the fourth inning. Campbell started the inning with a home run and Thompson laced a one-out home run to give King a 5-1 lead.
- Helms started the fifth inning with a home run before Carly Turner laced a two-out, two run double to extend the King lead to 8-1.
- Converse scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame, pulling to within 8-4.
- King's bats came alive in the sixth, scoring eight runs on eight hits, with Helms, Foster, Lawson and Lilly Million all picking up RBI, as well as a three-run home run from Dye.
- The Valkyries would get a runner to third in the bottom of the sixth, but a strikeout swinging would end the game.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Savana Luper (7-1) 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Rylee Summers (3-5) 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
FOR THE FOES
- Karleigh Crabill went 3-for-5 at the plate, with a double and two RBI.
- Serrah Ballard threw 9.1 innings in the twinbill, allowing 12 earned runs on 17 hits with a pair of strikeouts.
UP NEXT
- King returns to action on Tuesday at Southern Wesleyan University. First pitch from Central, S.C. is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
- Converse travels to Lees-McRae College on Tuesday.
