Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan walked away with the series victory as they took down the Tornado of King University in an 11-5 final on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors picked up 12 hits in the final game of the series. Luke Taylor led the team by going 3 for 4 at the plate. He was followed by both Tristan Tillman and Kade Bowling with two hits. Taylor doubled twice and had four RBIs in the game. Southern Wesleyan walked two times and Tillman stole two bases.
Gavin Chandler started the game on the mound and pitched 6.1 innings while striking out two batters. Ash Faulk came in to pitch in relief for the Warriors. Faulk pitched 2.2 innings and struck out two while only allowing two hits.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 11, King 5
Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-9 / CC 2-4) King (4-9 / CC 2-4)
How It Happened
Southern Wesleyan was first on the board as they brought one run in to score in the bottom of the first inning. Tristan Tillman led off by reaching first as he hit a single into right field. Tillman then stole second and advanced to third on a balk. Ethan Shimmel was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners and bring Josh Long up to bat. Long reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Tillman to come in to score.
King pulled ahead in the top of the third inning as a single by Nuno and a home run by Hirschfel allowed four runs to cross home plate.
The Warriors answered in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Kade Bowling walked and then advanced to second on a failed pick off attempt by the Tornado. Perry Dyer followed by hitting a single that allowed Bowling to advance to third. Matthew McCaffrey then walked to load up the bases for Ryan Postnieks. Postnieks hit a sacrifice fly out to center field to bring Bowling in to score. Both Dyer and McCaffrey were able to advance a base on the play. Luke Taylor hit a single into center field that allowed both Dyer and McCaffrey to come in to score to tie the game up at four. The Warriors were not done though as Taylor advanced to second on a balk. With Taylor within scoring position, Tristan Tillman hit a single into right field that allowed Taylor to score and give the lead back to the Warriors.
Southern Wesleyan continued to capitalize at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Josh Long was hit by a pitch and then advanced to third as Kade Bowling hit the ball into right field for a single. Perry Dyer was hit by a pitch to load up the bases for Matthew McCaffrey. McCaffrey came up to the plate and hit the ball into center field for a two RBI single. With two outs and two on, Luke Taylor hit a bases clearing double into right field to allow the Warriors to take a 9-4 run lead over King.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Warriors struck again. Nolan Evatt led off the inning by hitting a single to third base and then advanced to second on the throw. A single by Ethan Shimmel allowed Evatt to come in to score. Josh Long followed with a single of his own to allow Shimmel to advance to third. With runners at the corners, Kade Bowling hit a single into right field to bring Shimmel in to score.
King went on the offensive as a double by Garcia allowed Janney to come in to score. However, Ash Faulk came in to close out the game for the Warriors and prevented the Tornado from scoring any more runs. Southern Wesleyan went on to win the game in an 11-5 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel for a mid-week game against the Anderson Trojans at 4pm on February 24. They will then return to Dr. C Keith Connor Field on February 27-28 as they host the UNC Pembroke Braves.
