SW Virginia News

UVA WISE DROPS TWO CLOSE ONES AT KING

King took a pair of close games over UVA Wise in non-conference baseball action at the King Baseball Field Sunday. The Tornado won the opener 11-9 before rallying to claim a 3-2 win the series finale.

King (4-0) led game one 11-2 after five innings before having to hold a furious UVA Wise (0-4) comeback.

The Tornado built their lead behind the offensive performance of Preston Steele. Steele lined three hits and knocked in a trio of runs for King who seemingly put the game out of reach after a five-run fifth inning.

The Cavaliers would score six times in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 11-8. D'Sean Prinkleton, Jacob Boyle, Justin Reed, Tyler Gorbett and Cole Harness all knocked in a run in the frame.

An inning later, Brandon Costa's team kept the pressure on as a pair of walks and an error made it an 11-9 game with the go-ahead run at the plate.

King reliever Ray Berry would end the threat with a strikeout to preserve the victory.

Jeb Hurst and Matt Frye led the way on offense for UVA Wise as each student-athlete collected two hits. Nick Badgett registered a hit, walked twice and scored three of the Cavs runs while Reed and Harness had two RBI each.

Jakob Brown picked up the mound win. Brown scattered three hits across five innings of work while striking out six and allowing two runs (one earned) in his first appearance of 2023.

The visitors took a two-run lead in the top of the second inning of game two as Gavin Birkhimer's RBI single plated the first run before an error gave the Cavs a two-run bulge.

King would take the lead with a three-run fifth inning as five consecutive Torando's reached base. Garrett Huffman knocked in the first run with a single before Steele's infield hit tied the contest. The hosts took the lead on Junior Renwick's RBI groundout.

Grant Carlton and Miguel Rosado would combine to retire the next six UVA Wise hitters to secure the one-run triumph.

Carlton tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing six hits while striking out three while surrendering two runs (one earned) to pick up the victory. Rosado fanned two of the four hitters he faced en route to his first save of 2023 as King hurlers did not allow a walk in the game.

Badgett and Frye had two hits each in defeat. Badgett has started his Cavalier with a four-game hit streak as he tallied at least one hit in each of the season's first four games.

Nash Bingham and Hunter Anderson combined to toss 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief behind starter Clayton Lanser. Lanser went 4 1/3 innings, walked four, struck out three, allowed three hits and surrendered three runs in his first UVA Wise outing.

Costa's team is off until next weekend when the team travels to Georgia to face Augusta in a three-game weekend set.

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