AVE MARIA, Fla. - The Royals traveled to Ave Maria University on Thursday to start their 2026 SUN Conference season where they fell 3-1 in a tight pitching duel.
Freshman
Easton Nunez threw a gem of a game in his 1st Collegiate start on Thursday against the Gyrenes. Nunez only allowed 2 runs on 4 hits through 6 full innings of work where he also struck out 9 ofthe 21 Gyrenes. The Freshman's 9 strikeouts is the most strikeouts thrown by a Royal pitcher in a single game so far this season.
Austin Vakiener also had a strong outing for the Royals, allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and struck out 2 Gyrenes in 2 Innings.
After going down 2-0 after the 4th, the Royals were able to cut the AMU lead in half in the 6th. With 2 outs in the 6th Inning
Paddy Smith hit a double into left field keep the Inning alive.
Jhenzel Figueroa then came up to bat and was able to drive in Smith off an RBI single before advancing to 3rd on the throw. Warner was unable to get any more runs on the board and would fall 3-2 in their opening SUN Conference series.
Warner will look to bounce back tomorrow when they take on Ave Maria in a double-header.
Warner Stat Leaders
RBI's: Jhenzel Figueroa - 1
Strikeouts: Easton Nunez - 9
Career High
Up Next:
The Royals will continue their SUN Conference series against
Ave Maria University tomorrow in a double-header on
Friday, February 20th. First pitch for game 1 will be thrown at
3:00pm, while Game 2 is scheduled to begin at
6:00pm.
#GodBlessGoRoyals | #TogetherAsOne
