Mount Olive, N.C. — King University baseball went toe-to-toe with Mount Olive throughout Saturday's doubleheader, pushing both games to the final innings before ultimately falling 3–2 and 5–4 in extra innings at Scarborough Field. Despite dropping the Conference Carolinas series, the Tornado (12–30, 9–18 CC) showcased strong pitching, timely hitting, and late-game resilience against a Trojans squad now 22–18 overall and 15–12 in league play.
GAME ONE: King's Pitching Shines in Narrow 3–2 Loss
King received one of its best pitching performances of the season from Rohde Kirkland, who delivered 5.1 innings, allowing just three earned runs while striking out four. The Tornado defense backed him with a double play and several key stops to keep the game within reach.
Mount Olive struck first with a solo homer in the opening inning, but King answered in the third when Kale Richardson doubled to left to score Justin Smith, tying the game 1–1.
After the Trojans regained the lead in the third, King continued to apply pressure. In the seventh, Misael Garcia reached and later scored when Jose Ruiz put a ball in play that was misplayed at shortstop, cutting the deficit to 3–2.
Reliever Jonathan Webster tossed a clean final two outs, but King's late push came up just short.
Game One Offensive Highlights
GAME TWO: Tornado Take a Late Lead Before Mount Olive Rallies in Extras
Game Two turned into a pitcher's duel early, with Gavin True delivering a masterful outing. The right-hander threw 7.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out four and keeping Mount Olive off the board until the eighth inning.
King broke through in the sixth when Tommy Regan executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to score Logan Janney, giving the Tornado a 1–0 lead.
The offense added on in the seventh as Justin Smith crushed a two-run homer to right-center, extending the lead to 3–0. An inning later, Adrian Vidal doubled home Kale Richardson, pushing the advantage to 4–0.
Mount Olive rallied late, scoring three in the eighth and tying the game in the ninth. The Trojans walked it off in the 10th on a sacrifice fly.
Game Two Offensive Highlights
Despite Series Loss, King Shows Competitive Fire
Across the doubleheader, King:
- Held Mount Olive to three runs or fewer in regulation in both games
- Received 13.0 combined innings of strong starting pitching from Kirkland and True
- Produced timely hitting from Smith, Janney, Richardson, and Vidal
- Continued to show late-game fight, scoring in the seventh inning or later in all three games of the series
The Tornado remain firmly in the mix in the Conference Carolinas standings with two weeks of league play remaining.
Up Next
King returns to action on Saturday, April 11, continuing the series at Mount Olive with games scheduled for 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Scarborough Field.
