LAKE WALES, Fla. – After a busy weekend at the 30th Annual Warner Invitational, the Royals baseball team returned to regular season action on Monday afternoon, welcoming the visiting Red Storm of the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) to Royals Field. An offensive explosion put the Royals on top 14-6 over the Red Storm to improve to 11-19-1 on the season.
The visitors got onto the board first, with a run in the top of the third inning. That one run would be the only time the Red Storm would lead. In the bottom of the same inning, the Royals scored five runs, including a two-run homerun over the right field wall from Jordan Pike. The shot was the sophomore's first of his collegiate career.
The Royals offense scored five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead to 10-1. Pike drove in two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and finished the game 3-for-3 with four RBIs. The Red Storm cut the lead to 10-6 after platting four in sixth and one in the top of the seventh. But the Royals weren't done, putting four more runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh.
Behind Jordan Pike's big day, the offense combined for 16 hits from nine different hitters. Dylan Gross went 2-for-3 with two walks, while George Kirkland finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Tomas Rivera and Randy Rodriguez both went 2-for-4 on Monday as well.
Jeff Dally (1-1) earned his first win as a Royal on the mound. Dally allowed five runs on eight hits in his five and third innings of work. The Hernando, Fla. native struck out six Rio Grande batters in his fifth appearance for the Royals. Bobby Barradas tossed three and two-thirds innings of relief and allowed one run on four hits.
The Royals will head to Lakeland, Fla. on Tuesday, March 17, to take on NCAA-II Florida Southern College at 6 p.m. The Royals will then hit the road this weekend, and return to Sun Conference action, to take on #7 Northwood University down in West Palm Beach, Fla. for a three game conference series.
