LAKE WALES, Fla. - The Royals hosted their final game of the regular season on Saturday as the program took the opportunity to celebrate their graduating Seniors. Warner battled with their Crooked Lake Rivals, #12 Webber International University, but despite taking an early lead Warner was unable to take the win and fell by a final score of 7-to-4.
Warner got on the scoreboard early scoring a run in the 1st Inning off an RBI single by
Jacob Gumieny to drive in
Dawson Schumann and give the Royals an early 1-0 lead. The Royals bats stayed hot in the 2nd Inning, first scoring a
Timothy Dunn RBI single up the middle to bring home
Ethan Pues before the Royals base-runners were able to create chaos for the Warriors defense.
Gabriel Rodriguez executed a perfect sacrifice bunt and due to his aggressive base-running, it caused the Warrior's pitcher to commit a throwing error to allow Rodriguez to reach safely and get
Timothy Dunn in to score the Royals' 3rd run of the game. WIU's offense heated up over the next few Innings and took a 5-to-3 lead over the Royals.
Danny Garcia cut the Warriors lead down to 1 in the 7th Inning when he hit a solo home run, his 3rd of the season, but the Royals were unable to retake the lead in the final Innings. WIU extended their lead in 9th and despite creating some momentum the Royals were unable to mount a comeback and fell 7-to-4.
The Royal's pitching staff had a strong day at the mound that started with
Gage Allen throwing 3 hit-less Innings to help Warner establish a lead early in the game.
Willis McCarter continues to become a reliable component out of the bullpen, throwing 3.2 Innings while allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out a career high 6 batters in the final game of the regular season.
Warner will reset as they look to make a run in The Sun Conference Tournament next weekend. The Royals earned the #4 seed in the tournament based off of their regular season standings and will face off with the #3 seeded Keiser University in the Tournament's first day. The Sun Conference Tournament is a double-elimination style tournament, so the Royals will be guaranteed at least 2 contests with the first game taking place on April 30th while their 2nd game will be on May 1st.
Warner Game Stat Leaders -
HRs: Danny Garcia (1)
Hits: Danny Garcia &
Gabriel Rodriguez (2)
Stolen Bases: Gabriel Rodriguez &
Carlito Collins (1)
Ks: Willis McCarter (6)
Up Next:
The Royals will begin their post-season Campaign in
The Sun Conference Tournament on April 30th at 6:00pm at JetBlue Park in Fort Meyers, FL against the #3 Seeded
Keiser Unviersity.
#GodBlessGoRoyals | #TogetherAsOne
