Concord Falls in Road Doubleheader at King

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Concord University softball team dropped a pair of non-conference games to King Sunday afternoon at the King Softball Field.
 
After the games, CU moves to 2-9 in its non-conference slate while KU improves to 6-4 on the season.
 
Game One: King 7 – Concord 6 (10 Innings)
Finding themselves down one run, 5-4, in the top of the seventh, CU had three outs to make a move.
 
Junior utility Morgan Gleason reached on a single down the right field line and stole second to place the tying run in scoring position with one out. Then, freshman utility Blake Jamerson grounded out, but moved Gleason to third. Junior catcher/utility Kayla Sholter followed with an RBI single down the left field line to tie the game, 5-5, and force extra innings.  
 
CU struck first in extras, as sophomore outfielder Savannah Brehm came around to score on an RBI single from junior catcher/utility Gianna Sloan-Lebron to jump ahead 6-5 in the eighth inning.
 
However, the Tornado plated a run in the bottom of the eighth and walked off game one in the 10 th inning. The 10-inning thriller is the longest game Concord has played since the 2022 season against Alderson Broaddus.  
 
After King scored five runs in the bottom of the second, the Maroon and Gray responded with four runs between the third and fourth frames, led by sophomore infielder Lacie Lewis who drove in a pair of runs.
 
Sloan-Lebron and freshman pitcher/outfielder Reghan Hintz each had multiple hits in the contest. Hintz (0-3) took the loss in the circle, but sophomore pitcher Josi Ervin tossed 7.1 innings in relief, giving up zero earned runs.
 
Game Two: King 14 – Concord 6 (Six Innings)
KU jumped ahead early in game two, but it was senior infielder Courtney Raines who stepped up for the Moutnain Lions in the fourth inning.
 
After trailing 6-2 entering the fourth inning, Brehm led off the frame with a double. Then, with two outs, Jamerson and Lewis walked in back-to-back at-bats to load the bases for Raines.
 
Raines clobbered the first pitch she saw for a grand slam and tied the game at 6-6. It is the second home run in as many days for the Salem, Va. native, as well as her second on the season.
 
King jumped back on the offensive, scoring eight runs over the remaining three innings to claim the doubleheader sweep.
 
In the top of the second, Gleason singled on a bunt and advanced to second on a sacrifice from Brehm with one away. Gleason swiped third and scored on a throwing error to give Concord its first run of the game.
 
Lewis drove in another run, striking an RBI single in the third inning that scored Jamerson.
 
Raines was the only Mountain Lion to record multiple hits and drove in four runs on her fourth inning grand slam. Ervin fell to 1-4 in the circle, pitching 3.2 innings and striking out four hitters.
 
CU does not play again until it travels to Clermont, Fla. to participate in six games at The Spring Games March 7-9.