BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Barton baseball team (28-7, 11-7) swept King (9-22, 4-12), 9-5 and 9-1, Saturday afternoon in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader to complete a weekend league series sweep at Tornado Field.
Game One – Barton 9, King 5 (seven innings)
Barton graduate student outfielder
Matthew Rivera (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) hit a two-run home run while junior outfielder
Evan Harding (Clayton, N.C.) added a bases-clearing double as part of a five-run second inning as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-0 lead and held on to beat the Tornado in the first contest.
Barton senior
Tanner Halvorson (Eau Claire, Wisc.) improved to 7-1 on the season after earning the win in addition to a solo home run and a pair of RBI.
For King, Tanner Hunley (Apex, N.C.) (0-1) was tagged with the loss while Derek Martin (Denver, N.C.) tallied an RBI double for the home team.
Game Two – Barton 9, King 1
Rivera hit a three-run home run – his third straight game with a round-tripper – and Harding added three more runs batted in as the Bulldogs completed the doubleheader sweep of the Tornado.
Barton senior
Matt Rivers (Kernersville, N.C.) (3-2) earned the win after allowing just one run over six innings of work while graduate student
A.J. Campbell (Absecon, N.J.) pitched three scoreless innings for his second save of the year. King's Miguel Rosado (Hollywood, Fla.) (2-5) was tagged with the loss.
Barton returns home to face Virginia State on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., while King hosts Carson-Newman on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
