THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Royals baseball team used a 3-game series to improve to 25-21 overall and a TSC 7-14 record. Warner fell in game one 4-3 to the Nighthawks of Thomas University, then battled back in game two and three using 22 hits in the doubleheader to take game two 9-4 and game three 6-3 giving them the series.
GAME ONE - WU 3, TU 4
The pitching played tough in game one as there were only a combined 12 hits in the game at 6 apiece.
Trace Porter got the nod from head coach
Jeff Sikes, he would throw 5 2/3 innings surrendering 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned while walking 4 and striking out 3.
Kody Smith came in and threw 2 1/3 innings slamming the door on the Nighthawks striking out 1 and registering a hit by pitch but no damage was done. The Royals offense started off strong by doing the little things but tapered off following the 2
nd inning. In the top of the 1
st,
Rio Russell reached on a single. Following back to back strikeout's giving the Royals 2-outs,
Cole Parks smashed his 11
th double of the year scoring Russell which plated Parks 22
nd RBI of the year giving the Royals a 1-0 lead.
Derek Deler led off the top of the 2
nd with his 6
th double,
Kevin Troncoso followed suit with his 4
th double on the year scoring Deler.
Mick Tinny hit into a productive ground ball out that scored Troncoso later in the inning giving the Royals the commanding 3-0 lead following 2 innings of work. The Royals offense was just about done at that point as the Nighthawks swooped in and tied it up with 3-runs of their own in the bottom of the 2
nd. The game remained tied until the go ahead run was plated by Thomas in the bottom of the 6
th. The Nighthawks held on to keep the 4-3 victory over the Royals.
GAME TWO – WU 9, TU 4
Rio Russell got the job done in the top of the 1
st, he reached on a two bag error placing him on 2
nd, then swiped 3
rd, then came home to score on a wild pitch giving the Royals an early 1-0 lead. A costly error in the bottom of the 1
st helped the Nighthawks gain a 2-1 lead for an eventful 1
st inning. A
Junior Fermin double to lead off the top of the 4
th followed by a
Cole Parks single, allowed
Cal Sanelli to drive in Fermin off a sharp single.
Derek Deler produced a ground ball RBI that scored Parks regaining the lead for the Royals. In the top of the 6
th, another Sanelli single lead to an eventual run scored giving the royals a 4-2 lead. The Royals would later plate 5-runs in the top of the 7
th off just two hits taking a bigger advantage over the Nighthawks giving them a 9-2 lead. Thomas found two runs in the bottom of the 8
th but it wasn't enough to keep the Royals from victory.
Jaryd Clary picked up the win tossing 7 innings only allowing 5 hits, 2 runs 1 earned, and striking out 4. Shifty pitching by
Tyler Perkins earned him the save throwing 2 innings and putting the final nail in the coffin on the Nighthawks.
GAME THREE – WU 6, TU 3
The
Jarrett Joyner,
Ryan Klingler and
Anthony Torres combination held the Nighthawks to 8 hits and 3-runs in game three. Joyner picked up the win tossing 5 innings and Torres picked up another save slamming the door shut after throwing 2 innings of no hit baseball striking out 3 of his 6 batters faced. The Royals offense took the lead in the top of the 1
st of a 2-out double by
Junior Fermin followed by a
Cole Parks single that scored Fermin. Then again with 2-outs,
Jesse Alker singled in Parks for the RBI giving the Royals a 2-0 lead. The Royals built on the lead in the top of the 2
nd adding another 2-runs.
Mick Tinny singled in Parks. Then Fermin hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored
Zach Balogh giving the Royals a 4-0 lead. The Nighthawks silence would end as they found 2-runs in the bottom of the 2
nd. A crucial Balk by Thomas in the top of the 6
th scored Balogh, the Royals led 5-2. The Nighthawks put up another run in the bottom of the 7
th cutting it to a Royals 5-3 lead. The
Mick Tinny and
Zach Balogh combo struck again in the top of the 8
th sealing the deal for the Royals as Tinny doubled scoring Balogh for the final score of 6-3 Royals.
