BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Young Harris College baseball team got solid pitching from Tyler Isbell and Adam Moore and the bats came alive as the Mountain Lions won their first weekend road series with a doubleheader sweep over King College, 7-1, and 16-2, Sunday at the King College Baseball Field.
King (19-15) broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second when played resumed from Saturday second game as the Tornado plated a run to grab a 1-0 lead.
Back came Young Harris (21-20) in the third as Trey Rogers, who went 2-for-3, led off the inning with a double to left and moved to third on a bunt single by Adam Moore. David Atwood drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Josh Rudnik reached on an infield hit, allowing Rogers to score. Moore came in on a wild pitch and Evan Carr walked. Jack Morrow followed with a single through the left side to plate Atwood and Rudnik, giving the Mountain Lions a 4-1 advantage.
In the fifth inning, Mike Medori was hit by a pitch with two outs and advanced to third on a single by Zach Bricknell. Atwood reached on an error, allowing Medori to score, extending the lead to 5-1.
The Mountain Lions added a pair of runs in the seventh as Carr singled up the middle with one out in the frame and stole second. Morrow walked. Tommy Ferguson followed with a double to the gap in left center, scoring Carr and Morrow, giving Young Harris a commanding 7-1 lead.
Isbell (4-1) earned the win in pitching 5.2 innings. He gave up a run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and one walk. Oliver Pratt worked in relief.
Daniel Glenn (0-1) surrendered four runs on four hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Nick Melcher, David Prichard and Dylan Sullins pitched in relief.
In the second game, the Tornado opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first
Young Harris, which had all star answered with a run in the second as Carr reached on an infield single to start the inning and moved to second on a base hit to right by Morrow. ZBricknell moved the runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Medori reached on an infield hit, allowing Carr to score.
The Mountain Lions broke the 1-1 tie in the third as Rogers doubled to the gap in left center with one out and Atwood followed with a base hit through the right side, moving Rogers to third. Rudnik scored Rogers on a sacrifice fly to center, giving Young Harris a 2-1 lead.
The Young Harris bats came roaring alive in the fourth by scoring nine runs on nine hits as Morrow singled to left center with one out and scored when Bricknell tripled to right. Zeke Gribble followed with a base hit to center, scoring Bricknell. Ryan LaRose singled to right. Ferguson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two down, Atwood singled through the left side, plating LaRose and Gribble. Rudnik was the next player to get into the act with a double to left center, scoring Ferguson and Atwood. Carr singled to right and advanced to second on the play as Rudnik stopped at third. After a pitching change, Morrow, who went 2-for-2 in the inning, singled up the middle, scoring Rudnik and Carr. Bricknell, who went 2-for-2 in the frame, followed with a double to left center, plating Morrow.
King got a run back in the fifth to close the gap to 11-2.
However, Young Harris, which pounded out 21 hits, added three more runs in the seventh as Gribble led off the frame with a double to left. With one down, Ferguson singled through the left side, advancing Gribble to third. Rogers continued his hot streak with a base hit to left, plating Gribble. Atwood followed with a double to right center, scoring Ferguson as Rogers moved to third. Rudnik reached on an error as Rogers came in to score.
The Mountain Lions got two more runs in the ninth as Rogers belted a two-run homer to left to increase the advantage to 16-2.
Rogers, Morrow and Atwood collected three hits on the afternoon, while Rudnik, Carr, Bricknell, Gribble and Ryan LaRose each had a pair of hits.
Moore (5-3) was masterful in six innings of action in picking up the win. He gave up a pair of unearned runs on three hits, while fanning nine and walking a pair. James Mills, Taylor Topping and Travis Donahoo worked in relief.
Wesley Houser (2-3) took the loss in surrendering 10 runs on 12 hits with a walk and a strikeout in 3.2 innings. Melcher, Prichard, Danny Laperna and Dustin Pannell pitched in relief.
Young Harris completes its road swing 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 12 in Waleska, Ga., against Reinhardt University. Go to http://yhcathletics.athleticsite.net/livestats/bb/xlive.htm for Live Stats.
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