LAKE WALES, Fla. - The Royals and Gyrenes battled in a double-header on Saturday that ended with a walk-off sacrifice fly hit by
Alisha Wagoner to secure the series win for the Royals. Saturday's double-header was tightly contested as Ave Maria took game 1 by a score of 2-to-1 after the Royals forced extra Innings with a game tying run in the 6th, but Warner bounced back with a walk-off win in game 2 to split the double-header and win the series.
Saturday's first game was a true pitcher's duel as both team's offenses were limited throughout the matchup. Ave Maria struck first in the 4th, but Warner was able to tie the game back up in the 6th when
Grace Derstine took advantage of an overthrown pick off attempt by the Gyrenes catcher. The two teams stayed knotted up until the 8th Inning when Ave Maria was able to score their extra Innings' runner to take game 1. Kiersten Garman had a tremendous showing in the circle for the Royals pitching all 8 Innings while allowing only 1 earned run on 5 hits and tying her single game season high of 6 strikeouts to bring her season total to 39.
The final game of the series continued the trend of dominant pitching and limited offense as both teams remained scoreless heading into the 6th Inning, AMU drove in the first run of the game in the top of the 6th, but their lead was short lived as the Royals would tie the game back up in the bottom of the Inning when
Alisha Wagoner scored on a ground out RBI hit by
Meagan Bruns. After shutting down AMU in the top of the 7th, the Royals were able to load the bases for Wagoner who hit a walk-off RBI sacrifice fly that saw
Autumn Calcagno beating the tag at the plate to give the Royals the 2-to-1 series clinching win.
Elle Hernandez had another dominant outing against the Gyrenes on Saturday, throwing all 7 Innings the Sophomore allowed only 1 unearned run, 0 earned runs, on 4 hits and struck out 1 to help secure the Royals' 14th win of the season.
The Royals will look to build upon this weekend's series win when they host Webber International University next weekend in the next installment of the Crooked Lake Series.
Warner Combined Double-Header Stat Leaders -
Hits: Alisha Wagoner &
Jillian Hudson (2)
RBIs: Alisha Wagoner &
Meagan Bruns (1)
Stolen Bases: Alisha Wagoner (1)
Ks: Kiersten Garman (6)
Up Next:
The Royals will host
Webber International University for a 3 game series that will begin with 1 game on
Friday the 17th at 5:00pm and end with a double-header on
Saturday the 18th that will be played at
Noon and 2:00pm.
#GodBlessGoRoyals | #TogetherAsOne
