LAKE WALES, FL- The Royals faced off against Georgia Gwinnett College in the first game of a three-game series


 The Royals kicked off the three game series with Redshirt Sophomore Jefferey Almanzar taking the mound for his first start of the year. Almanzar came out the gate hot letting up no runs in the first. The Royals offense would waste no time as Julian Figueroa drove in Cesar Franco with an RBI single, taking an early lead. After two more scoreless innings from the Grizzlies bats, the Royals tacked on another one in the fourth after Sebastian Kuhns was hit by a pitch, bringing in the second run of the game. The Grizzlies would get out of the bases loaded with minimal damage against them, going into the fifth down by two. Almanzar would be lights out through five innings before running into a jam in the top half of the sixth. Austin Vakeiner entered the game with runners on second and third, and shut the door on Georgia Gwinnett's pressure, keeping the Grizzlies off the board. It would take GGC until the eighth inning to finally notch a couple of runs on the board. This threat was mitigated to just two, thanks to stellar pitching from Noah Harsch, keeping the Grizzlies at bay and the game tied at two. The Royals responded quickly, however, turning up the heat with another bases loaded opportunity. After drilling Franco to give the Royals the lead, Diego Guevara delivered a crushing blow, bringing in Luis Cedeno and Danny Garcia, extending the lead to three (5-2). Noah Harsch went back out in the ninth and continued his dominant performance earning the Royals their second win of the season. This marks the Royals second straight victory over a NAIA top ten ranked team.

INSIDE THE GAME: Warner University vs Georgia Gwinnett College
FINAL: Royals 5, Warriors 2
RECORDS: Royals (2-0), Warriors (3-1)


GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• Jefferey Almanzar was electric on the mound going five and a third, giving up no runs and only surrendering one hit. Almanzar also notched five strikeouts on 84 pitches.
• Cesar Franco went 3-4 on the night, with a couple singles, a double, a walk, and an RBI. Franco continues to be a spark plug for the Royal's offense and is batting .714 through the team's first two games.
• Diego Guevarra picked up a couple RBIS, both coming from an eighth inning single that gave the Royals firm control late in the game. In total he went two for five at the plate, narrowly missing his second grand slam of the season.
• As a pitching staff, the Royals held Georgia Gwinnett's bats in check giving up only two runs on five hits. They also combined for seven Ks and stranded nine runners on base.

UP NEXT:
The Royals complete the series in double header action against Georgia Gwinnett February 8^th, starting at noon.
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