Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Cory Guinn
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – The Barton College baseball team hit the road to begin a neutral site series with conference foe King University, splitting a doubleheader with the Tornado on Saturday afternoon at Fox Creek High School. King earned a 17-2 victory in game one, while the Bulldogs secured a 3-2 victory in the second game of the day.
Barton moved its record to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in Conference Carolinas' play as King now stands at 5-10 overall and 3-2 within the league.
Game One: King 17 Barton 2 (Seven inn.)
The first game of the three-game series, King erupted for a season-high 17 runs on 18 hits, taking advantage of three Barton errors en route to the 15-run victory.
Barton got on the scoreboard first with a solo home run from the bat of Andrew Webster over the right field fence to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead.
King was quick to respond, putting up seven runs of their own on seven hits, highlighted by back-to-back RBI double from Braden Cook and Jose Sola to claim the lead in the top of the second inning.
The Bulldogs scored once more in the bottom of the inning as Avery Harper scored on a balk following a double and advancing on a ground out.
The Tornado added to the lead with a six-run third inning, before putting up four runs on four hits in the top of the fourth inning for a 17-2 lead they would carry til the end.
Freshman Paschal Ammons quieted the Tornado offense over the final three innings in relief, allowing just two hits and striking out four in his second appearance of the season.
Senior left-hander Kyler Rufer (1-3) took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts over two innings in the start, while freshman Louis DeCarolis allowed six runs (one earned) on just four hits with a strikeout in one inning of relief. Sophomore Kerry Walker also recorded an inning on the mound, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits.
Sola was credited with his first win of the season for King after pitching a complete game, allowing two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts on just 84 total pitches.
Webster finished the game 1-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, an RBI and his first home run of the season, while Harper was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Game Two: Barton 3 King 2
King once again jumped out to an early lead, scoring a run in the top of the second and adding another in the top of the fourth on a double from junior Derrick Moore for a 2-0 advantage.
However, the Bulldog's remained persistent adding two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning of play. Ben Youngblood led off the inning with a double down the left field line followed by a single from Tyler Garrett to place runners on second and third.
Sophomore Calvin Hawke took advantage of the runners in scoring position, laying down a flawless sacrifice bunt to third base to bring Youngblood across the plate. Mitchell Wheeler quickly followed with an RBI-single to right center, tying the game at 2-2 after seven innings of play.
In the next inning of play, Harper singled down the left field line before Spiers Miller came on as a pinch runner. Miller then advanced from first to third on a throwing error by the Tornado catcher on a pick-off attempt that was kicked by the Tornado right field to put the runner in scoring position.
Senior outfielder Nick McKinney wasted no time putting the ball in play as he hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield on a 1-1 count to bring home the eventual game-winning run.
Starting pitcher Brandon Warren (3-2) earned his third win of the season after allowing just two runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts. Senior Zach Breen shut the door in the final inning of play, striking out all three batters he faced on just 11 pitches to record his second career save and first of the season.
Wheeler paced the Bulldog offense in game two with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with an RBI and a stolen base, while Garrett was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Hawke and McKinney each recorded an RBI of their own in the victory.
Barton and King will conclude the weekend series with a single game tomorrow, March 1 beginning at noon.
