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AAC Baseball: King victorious; Union defeats UVA-Wise
Allen Gregory KINGSPORT – It’s a long journey from Dripping Springs, Texas, to Bristol Tennessee, but Jace Smith found a new home. The junior right-hander added another chapter to his comeback story Wednesday with a complete game as the sixth-seed King College Tornado stopped No. 3 Milligan by an 8-2 margin in the opening round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference baseball tournament. King (31-16) returns to Hunter Wright Stadium this morning at 9 for a winner’s bracket game. Smith’s circuitous path to King included stints at Sam Houston State, Hill Junior College in Hillsboro, Texas, a a semi-pro team and an unsuccessful tryout with the Texas State University baseball team. He discovered King via his junior college teammate and best friend, Drew Trujillo, the starting shortstop for the Tornado. "High school and college baseball is very serious business in Texas. I love the game and I just wanted a place to play. I’m having a lot of fun now," said the 21-year-old Smith, who arrived at King in January. Smith entered the day with a 6-4 record and 1.31 earned run average. After a dismal season in 2006, the Tornado has posted one of the top turnarounds in NAIA behind first-year head coach Mark Conkin. The latest winning formula for King featured 11 hits off AAC earned run average leader Nathan Fritz, including four hits by leadoff man Joe Craven. A sophomore from Franklin, Tenn., Craven ranks second in the NAIA with 12 triples. "Our pitching staff has carried us, but today we swung the bats and made some plays," said Conkin, a former Major League scout. Trujillo (Colorado Springs) and Craig Cant (Sydney, Australia) supplied two hits apiece for King, while AAC freshman of the year Justin Reising (Jonesborough) ended the game with a diving catch in right field. "These kids have worked hard since August and they continue to do a tremendous job," Conkin said. The down note for King came in the sixth inning when power-hitting first baseman Mike Torrence suffered a quadriceps injury after crashing through a gate in pursuit of a fly ball. Torrence’s playing status for today was to be determined after x-rays after Wednesday evening. The 5-foot-10 Smith worked around 11 hits, partly through sheer determination. "All I do is battle," Smith said. "I’m a junk-ball pitcher, but I can bring the fastball at 85-86 mph at times and I sneak it in there." Former Sullivan East star Ben Huff collected a hit for Milligan "We didn’t bring our A game, and that’s disappointing," Milligan coach Nathan Meade said. "[Smith] threw strikes, worked ahead and kept us off-balance." Union 4, UVa.-Wise 3 The tournament’s opening game ended in heartbreak for the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. After entering the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 4-2, the fourth-seeded Cavaliers (28-14-1) had the tying and winning runs on base. However, the Union second baseman caught a Matt Hall liner and doubled the runner off first to end the game. "That’s a tough way to lose," Virginia-Wise coach Hank Banner said. "Out pitcher threw a gutsy game, we scratched back into it, and the table was set in the ninth with runners on first and second." The Cavaliers play a loser’s bracket game today at the King College field with a 12:30 start. UVa.-Wise entered the tourney hitting a torrid .350 as a team, with sophomore Brad Robbins (Powell Valley) leading the AAC with a .529 average. "Brad is an athlete, no matter the sport," Banner said. "Brad still needs a little polish offensively, but he’s probably our hardest worker." Robbins and Clay Christian (J.J Kelly) reached on two-strike singles in the ninth, then junior Brock Funk supplied a run-scoring single. Junior right-hander David Jones (Amelia, Va). allowed nine hits over nine innings for UVa.-Wise. Fifth-seeded Union, winner of 88 games over the past two season, has stolen a school record 164 bases with a mix of junior college transfers and in-state recruits from Kentucky. Jones, who leads Virginia-Wise with eight wins, is another success story and he found a way to put his team in position to win. "I had no recruiting interest from any college out of high school, and I actually contacted Wise," Jones said. "I love it down here." Home |
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