LAKE WALES, Fla. - On day two of the 30th Annual Warner Invitational, the Royals baseball team split the day, losing to 2-0 in their first game on Friday but bouncing back to win 14-3 in their fourth game of the tournament. The Royals will play their final game of the tournament on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. against familiar opponent Thomas University (Ga.) on the Warner University campus.
The Royals gave the ball to Jimmy Diven to start game three of the tournament against St. Ambrose University (Iowa). The Bees scored first with a solo homerun in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. From there Diven settled in and held the Bees to one hit over the next six innings. The Bees scratched out their second run of the game in the fifth inning on a wild pitch.
On the other side, the Bees countered Diven with Joe Prete who held the Royals hitless until the sixth inning. Chris Mejia bunted down the first base line with one out and beat the Bees to first base to break up the no-hitter by Prete. Randy Rodriguez hit into an inning ending double play, however, in the next at bat.
The Royals were retired in order in the seventh inning falling to the Bees 2-0.
Diven (2-3) took the loss with a complete game two-hit performance. He walked three and struck out two batters.
Mejia recorded the only hit of the game for Warner and was 1-for-3.
The Royals offense exploded in their final game of pool play on Friday evening. The Royals took on the Saints of Holy Cross College (Ind.) on the campus of Lake Wales High School under the lights. The boys in blue combined for 12 hits offensively and scored 14 runs, their most this season, in the victory.
The Royals got busy early and often, scoring 10 runs in the first two innings of play. George Kirkland drove in five runs, thanks in part to two 2-run homeruns, as he went 2-for-5 in the game. Chase Coon finished game four 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Tomas Rivera went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and three runs scored.
Jose Hernandez (1-2) toss four complete innings, in his first win of the season on the mound. Hernandez allowed three runs on five hits while striking out nine Saints' batters. Eric Green allowed no runs on four hits in his three innings of work. Combined the Royals pitchers struck out 12 Holy Cross batters.
The Championship game for the Warner Invitational will take place at 4:30 p.m. at Royals Field and will feature St. Ambrose University (Iowa) as the #1 overall seed, and the winner of the Spring Arbor University (Mich.) vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) game at 2:00 p.m. For more information please visit the tournament page at www.warnerroyals.com
