Lake Wales, FL- The Royals hosted the St. Thomas Bobcats in Sun Conference play at Sikes Family Field.

Game 1
The Bobcats came out swinging to open the series, scoring three runs in the first and second respectively. The Royals would answer in the bottom of the third, initiated by a SAC fly from catcher Jhenzel Figueroa. They would tack on three more in the inning thanks to an RBI single from Diego Guevara, an RBI double from Julian Figueroa and a run scored by a Bobcats' error. Unfortunately, the Royals would be unable to slow down St. Thomas as they went on to plate 11 runs on 20 hits and five untimely errors by the Royals defense. Despite scoring in the third, and a 3-4 day at the plate from Luis Cedeno, the Royals were unable to plate another run and fell short in game one 11-4.


Game 2
After losing the opening game of the series, the Royals entered Friday's doubleheader with a chip on their shoulder. Senior right-hander Josh Kuhns started on the mound and was effective out the gate, blanking the Bobcat lineup through the first three innings. The Royals would get on the board in the bottom of the third, thanks to an RBI single from third baseman Horiam Santiago; plating Ethan Pues and jumping Warner out to a 1-0 lead. St. Thomas answered back the following half inning, squaring the game at one a piece. However, the Royals jumped right back into the driver's seat as a result of a Carlos Vincente groundout and RBI single from Sebastian Kuhns. Up two in the bottom of the sixth, the Royals would tack on an insurance run thanks to an RBI single from center fielder Luis Cedeno. Entering the final inning of the shortened game, Kuhns traveled back out to the mound but was met with a Bobcats comeback that saw them tie the game at four. The Royals loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to bring across the winning run; sending this ballgame to extra innings. Trusted reliever Austin Vakiener held St. Thomas in check through two innings and left it in the hands of his offense. After loading the bases once more, the Royals would finally bring across the winning run to take game two 5-4 in extras. Vakiener picked up the win on the mound, while Cedeno, Figueroa, Kuhns, and Santiago all had multiple hits in the contest.
 
Game 3
With the series split at one, the scheduled nine inning game transitioned into a seven inning one due to the previous game going extras. Veteran southpaw Noah Harsch took the mound for the Royals and was as advertised. The lefty gave up a run in the second and the third but bounced back to keep the bobcats lead remained at two, and his offense in the game. Warner would get its first run of the game in the bottom of the third thanks to a wild pitch that plated Jorge Periera. The following inning, the Royals jumped out to a 4-2 lead after capitalizing off of an error and a wild pitch by the Bobcats. Fast-forwarding to the sixth, score still at 3-2, the Royals offense would produce a hitting display that stretched their lead even further. Cedeno, Periera, and Figueroa all had RBI singles, with an additional RBI groundout from Jh. Figueroa bringing the lead to 8-2. With the added insurance, Harsch trotted back out to the mound, mitigated a last-ditch effort from the Bobcats, and secured the Royals' second win on the day 8-3. Harsch went the distance throwing seven innings, surrendering only three runs on five hits, while striking out eight St. Thomas hitters. On the offensive side, Luis Cedeno and Julian Figueroa both collected multiple hits in the contest to propel the Royals over the Bobcats.

Game 4
With the Royals up 2-1 in the series, Trenton Chenard toed the rubber in hopes of securing the Warner's first Sun Conference series win of the year. Following the Bobcats pulling their starting pitcher after just two batters, the contest played host to a pitcher's duel for the majority of the game. Bobcat pitcher Jaime Gonzalez stepped in and delivered meaningful innings out of the bullpen and kept the game from getting ugly early on. The Bobcats struck first in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs on two hits. These would be the only runs given up by Chenard as he would go six innings giving up just four hits to the opposition. The Royals answered back in the bottom halves of the sixth and seventh, thanks to an RBI double by Dawson Schumann and Jhenzel Figueroa respectively. Heading into the top half of the eighth, the Bobcats pulled away, scoring three runs on four hits and stranding one. The Royals did not quit, as they would answer with three runs of their own, in large part to a two RBI double from Sebastian Kuhns. This would not be the last time Kuhns stepped up in a big moment, as the Royals would load the bases in the bottom of the ninth, bringing back up the slugging catcher. In what was the final dagger to the Bobcats, Kuhns drove in the winning run Guevara to secure the series win. James Stinson was phenomenal out of the bullpen, going 1 and two-thirds innings, giving up just one hit and fanning two Bobcats en route to his second win on the mound. An action-packed series sees the Royals walk it off again to take the series 3-1.


INSIDE THE GAME: Warner vs St. Thomas
FINAL: Royals 4, Bobcats 11
RECORDS: Royals(14-21, 6-11), Bobcats (22-13, 7-5,)

INSIDE THE GAME: Warner vs St. Thomas
FINAL: Royals 5, Bobcats 4
RECORDS: Royals(15-21, 7-11), Bobcats (22-14, 7-6,)

INSIDE THE GAME: Warner vs St. Thomas
FINAL: Royals 8, Bobcats 3
RECORDS: Royals(16-21, 8-11), Bobcats (22-15, 7-7)

INSIDE THE GAME: Warner vs St. Thomas
FINAL: Royals 6, Bobcats 5
RECORDS: Royals(17-21, 9-11), Bobcats (22-16, 7-8,)


UP NEXT:
 The Royals are back in action Thursday when they travel to West Palm Beach to take on the Kieser Seahawks in Sun Conference play.
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