LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Fighting Saints of St. Francis took down the Warner Royals tonight, 5-1, snapping the Royals 9 game win streak, which started back on February 19
th.
During the Royals 9 game win streak the Royals outscored opponents 87-29 and hit over .330 as a team.
Jarrett Joyner took the mound for his 6
th start of the year for the Royals; Joyner came into today's game with a 3-1 record on the year and a 3.38 ERA.
The Saints jumped out a 2-0 in the 1
st inning after hitting 2 fly balls that because of the windy conditions and tough playing "twilight" sky light, were able to find their way down for base hits. A wild pitch and a SAC Fly allowed both runs to come across the plate for the Saints.
Jarrett Joyner settled into a groove after the 1
st inning and continued to pitch well throughout the game, pitching 7 innings and striking out 9 batters before being relieved by
Kody Smith in the 8
th inning.
The Saints added another run to their lead in the 5
th inning off a ground ball to
Rafael Astacio at 2
nd base which allowed the base runner at 3
rd to score the 3
rd run of the game for the Saints.
St. Francis scored their 4
th and 5
th runs of the game off a bases loaded double off the left field wall in the top of the 7
th inning. Royals left fielder,
Alfred Brown, was able to throw the base runner trying to go from 1
st to 3
rd out but the 2 runs still scored, bringing the Saints lead up to 5-0 as they took the field in the bottom of the 7
th.
Ronny Penalo got the Royals on the board in the bottom half of the 7
th inning when he hit his 1
st homerun of the year over center field.
Kody Smith took the mound in the 8
th inning for the Royals and held the Saints at bay, striking out 2 batters in 2 IP and giving up 0 hits.
The Saints Michael Quiram had a terrific night on the mound, keeping the potent Royals offense off-balance the whole night, but expect the Royals to bounce back and be ready to go tomorrow as they take the field for a double-header against Bellevue University at 3 and Sienna Heights at 6:30.
