LAKE WALES, Fla. – Seven late runs pushed the Royals baseball team past the visiting Fighting Saints of the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) on Monday afternoon. The Royals rallied to earn their second straight win 10-8 and improve to a 7-16 mark on the season.

The Royals were down by as many as five runs before the bats caught fire in the seventh and eighth innings. Down 8-3, Kevin Gregg stepped to the plate for the Royals and delivered a single to deep right field and drove in Randy Rodriguez and Dylan Gross to cut the deficit to two runs. In the bottom of the eighth, the Royals came alive and combined to score five runs on six hits. Chris Mejia, Broderick Rodocker, Zach Quillian, and Gregg all drove in runs in the bottom half of the inning to give the Royals the lead.

Chris Mejia continued to stay hot in his return to the lineup, going 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Kevin Gregg drove in three runs while going 3-for-4 at the dish. George Kirkland went 3-for-5 on Monday, while Zach Quillian went 2-for-5. Dylan Gross drew four walks which tied a school record for most walks in a game. The Royals offense combined for 14 hits from eight different players.

Three different Royals pitchers saw action on the mound on Monday. Dalton Kelley got the start and allowed five runs on seven hits in his three innings of work. John Pacheco also went three innings and allowed three runs, one earned, on two hits. Jordan Pike (1-3) earned his first win of the season after allowing just one hit and no runs in his three innings of work.

The Royals will welcome the Statesmen of William Penn University (Iowa) to Royals Field on Tuesday, March 10 for a double-header comprised of two seven inning games. Game one is slated for a 1 p.m. start, with game two tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m.