EMORY, Va. – The King University baseball won a back-and-forth slugfest on Tuesday afternoon at Emory & Henry College. The Tornado used a 12-run third inning to take a lead, and had to come back with five runs in the eighth to win the contest 21-18.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 21, Emory & Henry 18
LOCATION: Porterfield/DeVault Field; Emory, Va.
RECORDS: King 10-14; Emory & Henry 8-20
TIME OF GAME: 3:43
KING HIGHLIGHTS
- Jake Lathrop and Preston Steele each hit two home runs, all coming in the third inning.
- Both drove in five runs to lead the Tornado with Steele posting five hits and scoring three runs.
- Lathrop scored four runs and added four hits.
- All of the Tornado starters recorded at least one hit in the contest.
- Cayden Goodwin and Junior Renwick posted three hits each with Goodwin driving in four and Renwick plating a pair.
- Derek Martin and Conner Hyatt posted two hits each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A single, sacrifice bunt and another single gave Emory & Henry a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
- A Wasp defensive miscue allowed a Tornado run to score in the second before Emory & Henry regained the lead in the bottom of the inning.
- The Wasps plated six runs, highlighted by a two-run double from Matthew Long to take a 7-1 lead.
- It was short-lived, however, as King responded with 12 runs in the third inning.
- Steele started the onslaught with a one-out home run before an error and Lathrop's first longball.
- Goodwin plated a pair with a double to right center before a Mason Swartz two-run single up the middle.
- Steele then laced a three-run home run before a walk and another bomb from Lathrop that gave King a 13-7 lead.
- Emory & Henry chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the third and fourth innings to pull within 13-11 before King extended the lead.
- Lathrop drove in one in the fifth inning before an error allowed another to score and stretch the King lead to 15-11.
- In the bottom of the frame, Emory & Henry plated seven runs, five coming on five different singles and two on a Noah Mazza double to take an 18-15 lead.
- A Steele groundout in the sixth scored Hyatt who started the inning with a double and cut the Tornado deficit to two.
- The score remained the same until the eighth inning when Renwick laced a two-run double down the left field line to even the score.
- Garret Huffman followed with a single to give King the lead before a Goodwin two-run double stretched the King lead to 21-18.
- Rohde Kirkland then retired the side in order in each the eighth and ninth innings, the only two frames that went down 1-2-3 in the contest.
- Kirkland retired the final eight batters he faced and only allowed one hit in four and two-thirds innings to earn the victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Jared Foley went 3-for-6 with three runs scored and drove in three from the leadoff spot.
- Noah Mazza went 5-for-5 with three runs batted in and two run scored from the ninth spot in the lineup.
- Wayne Mize added three hits, two runs scored and two runs batted in.
OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher: Rohde Kirkland (4-1) 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Losing Pitcher: Mason Lyda (0-1) 1.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The 20-run outburst for the Tornado marks the eighth time since 2004 King has scored at least 20 runs. The last time came on April 16, 2015 in a 28-3 win over Southern Wesleyan University.
- King scored more than 20 runs twice in the 2015 season and twice in 2012.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado are in action again on Wednesday at UVA Wise. First pitch from Wise, Va. is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
- Emory & Henry hosts Coker University on Friday and Saturday.
