Kettering Royals

Despite the bad weather in the area, the sky cleared for a beautiful afternoon in Kettering as the Royals met up with the Rangers at Fairmont High School.  For those that have been around for awhile, the Royals/Rangers matchups are always exciting and this one proved to be no different.  DJ Swearingen got the start for the Royals and he held the tough Ranger lineup in check for 4 innings with the help of some great defense.  However in the 5th Joe Staten got the Rangers on the board as he belted a solo HR to rightcenter to kick things off.  The Rangers were able to plate 2 more runs in the 5th after a few errors and a pair of hits.  At the plate the Royals were putting ball after ball in play, but hit after hit the Rangers defense was stealing those hits away with numerous diving catches and great throws.  In the top of the 7th the Royals were able to plate their first run, but as the skies opened for a brief shower in the bottom of the 7th, so did the Rangers offense.  The Rangers plated another 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to extend their lead to 7-1.  Swearingen continued to work into the 8th, but another error allowed the Rangers to plate another run.  Down 7-1 in the top of the 9th the Royals finally got a bit of offense going as Brad Koopman started the inning off with a triple to the rightcenter gap, and then Shawn Rudegeair followed up with a walk.  Koopman was able to score on a pass ball as Eric Jameson belted a double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd.  Mark Franklin was able to plate Rudegeair from third, but with 2 outs the Rangers ended the game getting the Royals to flyout to third.  The Royals may have lost 3-7, but it was a great game on both sides as hits were hard to come by due to great defensive plays by both teams, and both starters gave it their all to control the game.  The Royals look forward to their next matchup with the Rangers in July to split the season series.