LAKE WALES, Fla. – Royals split their opening weekend double header against the #16 NAIA ranked Webber International Warriors.
Both game this afternoon were only scheduled to go 7 innings.
GAME 1: (WU – 2; WIU – 0)
GAME 2: (WU – 5; WIU – 13)
Joey Theune and
Andrew Yarbrough combined for a shutout win in game 1 of today's double header. Theune pitched 5 innings while only allowing 2 hits and striking out 4.
Joey was followed by sophomore lefty
Andrew Yarbrough who pitched 2 innings and only allowed 2 base runners. Both pitchers threw excellently and were able to consistently stay ahead in counts when it mattered.
Taylor Briggs opened the game for Warner with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the 1
st inning in game 1 and would later score on a
Scott Fickas E5 to the left side of the field.
Daniel Coca ripped a double to the left field in the bottom of the fifth and would later score the 2
nd run of the game for Warner after
Erich Jaquez drew a bases loaded walk.
The Warriors bats came alive in game 2, as they erupted for 8 runs in the top of the 3
rd inning and busted out 5 more in the top of the 4
th.
Webber tallied 13 total hits in the game 2 victory; Warner grabbed 8 hits of their own, a solid offensive effort but left 10 runners on base and it is always tough to win when you leave that many men out there.
Trey Matthews smashed two triples to the left side of the outfield in the game 2 loss, going 2-3 on the day with 2 runs scored.
Luby Fields made his first career start for the Royals in game 2 but had a rough 3
rd inning and it seemed as though that was all Webber needed to gain some momentum and score runs because after that it did not matter who the Royals threw out there, the Warriors were all over it.
John Bean and
Wilson Lorenzo were finally able to cool the Warrior offense and the Royals even began to mount a comeback, scoring 3 runs in the last inning but in the end fell to Webber 13-5 and start this 2020 season with a 1-2 record after completing a 3 game series against the Warriors these past two days.