LAKE WALES, Fla.. - The Royals opened their 2026 season by splitting Saturday's double-header with #12 Oklahoma Wesleyan at a cold and windy Sikes Family Field. Warner took Game 1 by a score of 12-6, which was highlighted by a grand slam hit by
Ethan Pues in the 5th Inning. This win marks
Coach Rouse's 1st win with the Royals and back-to-back Opening Day's where the Royals have taken down a Top 25 opponent.
GAME 1: Royals Win 12-6
Graduate Transfer
Harper McLendon took the 1st start of the season for the Royals and started off strong recording 3 strikeouts in the first 2 Innings of the game, despite allowing 1 unearned run. The Royals offense had their own strong start scoring 2 runs of their own from an infield single by
Adriel Torres-Gonzalez and when
Raul Olivera reached on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the 1st Inning. As the wind picked up in the 3rd Inning, so did the Eagles bats hitting 2 home runs and scoring 5 runs before the end of the Inning. It wouldn't take long for the Royals to answer back with 2 big Innings of their own. In the 4th Inning, the Royals were able to string together multiple strong at-bats and took advantage of some errors by the Eagles on the base paths to get 4 more runners across the plate to tie the game at 6. The Royals would continue adding on runs in the 5th, as
Ethan Pues crushed a hanging pitch in the zone to left-center for a Grand Slam. Warner kept the pressure on and were able to score 1 more run to take an 11 to 6 lead into the 6th Inning. Warner would add one more insurance run in the 6th on an RBI single off the bat of
Samuel Blanco. Freshman
Easton Nunez (1-0) earned his
1st collegiate win coming on in relief in the 4th Inning, allowing no runs and recorded 1 strikeout in his debut.
Warner Stat Leaders - Game 1
Home Runs: Ethan Pues - 1
RBI's: Ethan Pues - 4
Stolen Bases: Raul Olivera - 1
Strikeouts Thrown: Harper McLendon - 5
GAME 2: Royals Fall 14-0
While the temperatures plummeted throughout Game 2, the Royals pitchers struggled to find the strike zone and OKWU took advantage at the plate. The Eagles took a 14-0 lead after 4 Innings and the Royals offense was unable to create a rally of their own. Despite the loss, Royals Freshman pitcher
Evan Christ threw a great 3.1 Innings of relief where he struck out 4 of the 12 batters he faced and allowed no runs while on the mound.
Warner Stat Leaders - Game 2
Extra Base Hits: Manny Santana and
Carlito Collins - 1 (Santana - 2B, Collins - 3B)
Strikeouts Thrown: Aidan Murphy - 6
Up Next:
The Royals will look to take the series in the rubber-match against OKWU at home on
Monday, February 2nd at 6:00pm.
#GodBlessGoRoyals | #TogetherAsOne
