Kettering Royals

It took 3 games, but the Royals were able to come out on top of the Springfield Indians.  Round 1 kicked off Sunday for the Royals in their matchup against the Springfield Indians.  Kevin Reynolds, would be game 2 starter, kicked off the day for the Royals as their game 1 starter was mugged at a bar in Newport and unavailable for the day, and the Indians sent their win leader, Derrick Coleman, to the hill to counter.  The Royals got off to an early lead as Brian Duffy was able to score on a Chris Jergens' single in the bottom of the first.  It would remain 1-0 until a few fielding miscues in the 3rd allowed the Indians to tie the game.  However in the top of the 4th the Indians would take a 4-1 lead as a questionable "fair or foul" homerun plated 2 more and they plated a 3rd in the inning after Beach's SF scored Buynak from 3rd.  In the bottom of the 4th the Royals were able to get their 2nd, and final, run of the game Eric Jameson belted a SF to score Burgos from 3rd.  From their the Indians would plate 2 more off Royals reliever Brenden Regan, but at the plate Coleman continued to baffle Royals hitters and had tough defense behind him to lock up the game one victory for the Indians.

Following a brief delay to rest, both teams took the field for game 2.  The Royals sent their ace to the mound as Jason Holmberg took the mound with his team's back against the wall in the must win game.  Holmberg didn't disappoint for his team throwing a 7 inning, 5 hit Complete Game for the victory.  The Royals belted 16 hits off 5 different Indians hitters to plate 16 runs over the course of the game.  They were led by Chris Jergens (4-4, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) and Kevin Reynolds (3-3, 3B, 3 runs, 1 RBI).  Offensively on the day 9 different Royals batters tallied at least 1 hit in the 16-1 victory setting up game 3.

This past Tuesday night both teams faced off once again at Rotary Park in another must win game for both teams.  The Royals sent lefty Drew Dobbins to the mound for his start, who was looking to take out his fury from the recent mugging.  The Indians sent Jason Moore to the mound to counter, but his day was shortened as the Boys in Blue were able to plate 5 runs in the bottom of the first as Moore was only able to record 1 out.  Looking to stop the bleeding, Indians skipper went to the bullpen and brought in Aaron Lawson who was able to end the Royals scoring picking up 2 quick outs.  However Dobbins continued to work on the mound sitting the Indians down 1-2-3 in the first and second to get his team back up to the plate.  Picking up where the left off in the first they were able to plate 4 more runs for a comfy 9-0 lead after 2.  In the 3rd, with the help of a constricting zone the Indians were able to work 3 straight walks before a couple groundouts plated their 1st run before the 3rd ended.  Down 9-1 the Indians plated 2 more runs in the top of the 4th as a misplayed ball in the outfield allowed a pair of Indians to score.  With a 9-3 lead Dobbins continued to work against Indians batters for 7 straight innings before exiting with a 14-3 lead following another 5 run inning by Royals batters in the 6th.  Dobbins left the game and Royals skipper handed it over Jesus Velasquez, the hero from their final regular season game with the Slammers, but the night was not meant to be for Jesus.  A bit fatigued from his 5-5 day at the plate and a recent gym workout, his outing was shortened as a walk, 2 HBP, and an error allowed the Indians to plate 3 more runs.  With the Indians trying to gain some momentum outfielder/reliever Chris Jergens was brought in from the bullpen to halt the Indians scoring.  Jergens loaded the bases with a walk as he struggled to get into rythm, but after that he picked up 2 quick K's to end the Royals threat.  Entering the top of the 9th with a 14-6 lead the Royals brought DJ Swearingen, their number 1 draft pick, out from behind the plate to finish the game on the mound.  DJ didn't let his team down as he quickly recorded the final 3 outs of the game with only 11 pitches securing the 14-6 game 3 victory.

With the victory the Royals are advancing to the Semi-Finals for the 5th straight season.  The are also advancing to face off against the Slammers, their semi-finals opponent from 2009, who ended their season in a close 7-9 nightcap at Rotary Park.  The Slammers have been hot this season, and have played the Royals tough each game they've had this season.  This series is sure not to disappoint as the MVABL #2 and #3 seeds are meeting for a chance to advacne to the Finals!  The Royals and Slammers Semi-Finals matchup will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday September 11th starting at 4:00 PM.  Mark your calendars now and hopefully you can make it out to support your Boys in Blue as they continue their run to return to the MVABL Finals!