LAKELAND, Fla. – The Royals had high hopes traveling to The Sun Conference No. 1, NAIA D-I No.3 Southeastern Fire. A woeful no hitter by the Fire put the Royals down 0-1. The Fire took game 2, 3-7, then the Royals with a 8-7 lead heading into the bottom of the 9
th inning gave up a 2-spot for a Fire walkoff game 3 win 9-10 and the Royals fell via the broom.
Game 1 WU 0, SEU 7
Trace Porter got the start on the mound and was throwing a gem before getting roughed up in the bottom of the 6
th. Porter, just a freshman, took the No. 3 Fire head on. He threw a masterful 5 innings only surrendering 3 hits and giving up 1 run due to a solo long ball. The Fire heated up in the bottom of the 6
th and took off. The Royals would fall 0-7 and the Fires Bermudez completed the no hitter walking one finishing the 9 innings 1 runner from a perfect game.
Game 2 WU 3, SEU 7
It did not take long for the determination of the Royals offense to come alive and it was
Junior Fermin that said enough, he led off game two with a 2-out single into centerfield to break the hitless streak of the Royals. The Royals were held scoreless until the top of the 8
th inning.
Derek Deler connected with a double to left field. Deler took advantage of a wild pitch moving up to 3
rd base then a costly balk by the Fire forced Deler to score and the royals cut into the 1-4 Fire lead. The Fire added 3 runs in the bottom of the 8
th to take a 1-7 lead. In the top of the 9
th, following another
Junior Fermin single,
Jesse Haney smacked a 2-run shot straight out of centerfield. Unfortunately for the Royals they could not continue the offense and dropped game 2.
GAME 3 WU 9, SEU 10 (Fire Walkoff)
The Royals struck first in game 3 off a 2-run homer by
Kevin Troncoso,
Ryan Klingler was on base as a pinch runner for
Mick Tinny who was hit by a pitch. The Fire got on the board in the bottom of the 3
rd inning with 3 runs of their own to take a 1 run lead. The Royals mounted 4 more runs in the top of the 5
th with help from
Jesse Haney and
Kevin Troncoso Doubles. The Fire answered in the bottom of the 5
th with another 5 runs keeping the lead 6-8 Fire. The Royals tied the game in the top of the 8
th as Troncoso hit his 2
nd homerun of the game, followed by
Jesse Haney who drew a walk with bases loaded making the score 8-8. Keeping the Fire scoreless in the bottom of the 8
th, Troncoso stepped up to the plate in the top of the 9
th and drove home his 5
th RBI of the game breaking the tie and giving the Royals a 9-8 lead. In the bottom of the 9
th the Fire worked for bases loaded with 1 out.
Anthony Torres was on the mound for the Royals, he produced a ground ball to
Derek Deler at shortstop who then flipped to Troncoso at 2
nd for one out who then flipped to 1
st but the throw was a millisecond to late for the double play and the Fire took game 3 in walkoff fashion.
