Kettering Royals

The Boys in Blue after starting the 2011 season 7-1 hit a bit of a rough patch.  As the summer heated up the Boys in Blue were cold as ICE.  Over the next 6 weeks the Royals just couldn't find the win column.  On Sunday July 17th the Royals met up with the Slammers, for their first and only matchup of the season, on a great day at Bellbrook High School.  Rookie Santel Grant started for the Royals and looked good through 4.  Over the first 4 innings the Royals managed to build up a 10-6 lead, but the bad Defense bug bit again, and when the dust settled in the 5th DJ had to be brought in to stop the bleeding and close out the 5th inning with the Royals down 10-12.  DJ was able to cool the Slammers offense keeping the Royals alive working through the last 3 innings.  In the 6th Tim Peffley got his first hit of the season, and it was a big one.  Peffley belted a solo shot to deep center off the equipment shed to cut the Slammers lead to 1.  However as the game progress the Royals couldn't get anymore runs.  As they started the 9th the Royals were still down 1.  Brian Duffy started the 9th off with a sharp single and was later moved over 2 batters later as Jergens worked a walk.  Skipper Mark Franklin then moved them over with a sacrifice bringing Eric Jameson to the plate with 2 outs, down by 1, and the tying run only 90 feet away.  Jameson delivered with a hard hit single up the box that easily scored Duffy from 3rd, and Jergens was able to beat the throw to the plate for the go ahead run.  With a slim 13-12 lead going into the bottom of the 9th the Royals called in their closer, Chris Jergens, to close the game out.  Jergens got a quick 4-3 put out for the first out of the inning.  Owens then worked a walk to get the tying run on base.  Owens then moved around the bases with an intense focus to get to 3rd base bringing Slammers skipper Rick Anderson to the plate.  Jergens got Anderson to fly out to center for what would appear to be a Sac Fly to tie the game, but Brenden Regan reached down and sent a seed to the plate to punchout Owens trying to score on the tag for the final out of the game!!  The Royals had picked up their first win since May 29th ending a 6 game losing streak.

Two Royals sweep the League Honors this past weekend.  Royals Catcher and Skipper Mark Franklin was named the Player of the Week for May 23-29.  In the doubleheader sweep of the Bats and Shockers Franklin went 5-7, scored 4 runs, batted in 5, picked up a rare steal, belted a double, but the highlight for the 15 year veteran was recording his first career grand slam.  When asked what he would do after such a feat he stated "I'm Going to Walt Disney World!!!".

Also honored was Chris Jergens, Royals usual closer, he was named the Advocare Pitcher of the Week.  Chris entered a tight game in a critical situation.  With the Royals down 1 in game 2 against the Shockers Jergens ran to the mound from Centerfield to take the hill with 1 out and the base loaded.  The Royals couldn't let the Shockers plate anymore runs with only 1 inning left to play.  Jergens stepped up to the challenge and was able to hold the Shockers hitless facing 7 batters over his 1 2/3 innings of work, recording 4 K's and allowing the Royals to notch a 13-12 comeback victory.  The win is Jergens first of the year.

Be sure to head over to the league page for the full write-ups.  www.miamivalleybaseball.com

Congratulations to both recipients!

The Royals were back in action Sunday after picking up a pair of late game wins versus the Springfield Indians a week ago.  The Royals first game of the day was their first matchup with the new Dayton Bats.  It was a hot one at AIA, but some Bat miscues allowed the Royals to plate 11 runs in the first 3 innings.  It was too much for the Bats to overcome as the Boys in Blue cruised to a 16-3 victory in 7 innings.

The Royals afternoon matchup was with the team they last saw in the 2010 MVABL Finals, the Warren County Shockers.  The game was a fight to the final out...  For the Royals Chris Jergens launched a 2 run home run in the top of the first, but it was quickly matched by the Shockers independent league pickup as he also launched an opposite field 2 run shot.  However in the 3rd inning a Shockers fielding miscue allowed the Royals to plate 4 runs as the an errant throw rolled all the way into the right field corner, but the Royals weren't done their.  They again loaded the bases for Royals Skipper Mark Franklin.  Down 1-2 in the count Franklin connected lifting his first career Grand Slam just over the left field fence.  With a commanding 11-2 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd the heat finally started to get to the Royals as several fielding miscues allowed the Shockers to match the Royals 8 spot with 8 of their own.  Holding just a slim 1 run lead the Shockers were able to tie the game up at 11 and then take 12-11 lead into the 6th.  The Royals were unable to produce any runs in the top half of the 6th and in the bottom the Shockers were primed to score some more runs.  With one out and runners at 2nd and 3rd the Royals walked the Shockers leadoff man to load the bases before sending normal closer Chris Jergens to the mound to silence the Shockers offense and keep it to a 1 run deficit.  Jergens got the job done and closed the books on the 6th.  Entering the top of the 7th the Royals needed to score 1 to tie and were right where they wanted to be in the lineup.  Jergens started it off, but was just under the pitch and lifted a high fly ball to center for the 1st out.  Jason Holmberg stepped up to the plate next and belted out a single.  Kevin Reynolds followed with a single to the gap that moved Holmberg to 3rd with just 1 out.  With 2 on and 1 out the Royals needed a fly ball to tie the game, but the Shockers picked up a key K for the 2nd out of the inning.  With 2 outs and the tying run just 90 feet away DJ Swearingen went to the plate trying to do his best Kirk Gibson impression.  DJ suffered a freak hand cut trying field a ball and had to be removed from the mound, but with 2 outs, a bandaid, some tape and his batting gloves on DJ went to the plate trying to rebound from a hard day at the plate.  DJ delivered belting a triple to the gap that plated both Holmberg and Reynolds for the 1 run lead!!  The Shockers got another K to end the inning, but the Royals held a slim 1 run lead.  Jergens went to the mound looking to pickup his first win of the season.  Jergens got Stiffler to ground out to Duffy for the first out of the inning. Fluty followed with a walk and then moved to 2nd on a pass ball however Jergens picked up another K for the 2nd out of the inning.  Jack Millard then stepped up to the plate looking to keep the Shockers alive, but the Jergens wasn't going to let the game slip away and picked up another K to end the game securing the Royals 13-12 victory!!!

The Boys in Blue have won 7 straight since an opening day loss to the Athletics, but have 4 tough games ahead of them on the schedule.  Over the next 2 weekends the Royals will travel to the small confines of Dixie High School to take on the new Dixie Fusion who picked up their first 2 wins of the season this past weekend.  Then the following weekend they will face off against the hard hitting Ohio Mariners before they head into a much needed bye week to recover.  Be sure to come out and cheer on your Royals as they look to keep things rolling.

The Kettering Royals began the 2011 Season with a rough outing where they lost to the wind and the Fairborn Athletics.  In the game the Boys in Blue fell 10-17, a lot due to the fact they lost the HR battle 5-1.  The new A's club launched at least 1 HR off each off the 3 Royals Pitchers that took the mound on they day, 3 of which accounted for 8 of the Athletics runs.

In week 2 the Boys in Blue had their first Double-Header of the season looking to get back on track after their wake-up call at the hands of the A's.  In a rain soaked weekend the Royals were lucky enough to be scheduled at AIA and were able to play against the Miami Valley Thunder.  In game 1 the Royals were patient at the plate and racked up 10 free passes in their 16-4 victory over the Thunder.  The Royals notched 14 hits, 7 for extra bases (3-2B's//2-3B's//2-HR's).  Sam Cerreta, the Royals 2011 Draft Pick, started for the Boys in Blue making his first appearance and went 5 strong innings.  He tallied 7 K's and only gave up 2 Earned Runs.  In relief, Furious Frank Burgos took the hill and closed the door on the Thunder facing 7 batters over the final 2 innings.  Cerreta knocked his first homerun of the season and Reynolds got his first HR since 2008 the hard way.  Reynolds hit a ball into the gap that rolled around the outfield enough for him to beat out the throw at the plate for the rare inside the park HR.

In game 2 the Royals kept after the Thunder and picked up another "W", winning 11-1.  Errors and pass balls plagued the Thunder allowing the Royals to get runners in scoring position over and over again.  However all the action for the Boys in Blue came in the first 2 innings as all 11 runs were plated in in the 1st and 2nd highlighted by Jason Holmberg's 3 run HR, a pass ball on the previous pitch robbed Holmberg of his first Grand Slam.  Kevin Reynolds took the mound for his first appearance of the season and he didn't disappoint.  Reynolds had a NO-NO going through 3.5 innings before the Thunder snuck a single through the middle of the box.  Reynolds threw a complete game and only allowed 3 hits and 1 ER as the Royals cruised to their 11-1 victory.

This past weekend the Boys in Blue had a tough matchup versus the Camden Redlegs, the 3rd "Hottest Team" in the MVABL.  For the fans the game didn't disappoint, it was a dogfight until the last out.  The Royals scored first in the first inning as Jason Holmberg knocked his second 3-run HR in as many weeks helping his own cause.  Looking to rebound from a disappointing week 1 game, Holmberg took the mound for the Boys in Blue.  Going into the bottom of the first the Redlegs countered the Royals 3 plating 2 of their own.  Brad Clark started for the Redlegs and did his best to silence the Royals offense over his 7 inning, however the Reynolds hit a timely double to plate Holmberg in the 3rd and in the 5th inning Burgos plated Jergens with a seeing eye single down the third baseline for the Royals 5th run.  After Holmberg went 5 strong innings the Royals turned the ball over the bullpen.  Frank Burgos took the mound looking to hold the Royals lead.  Burgos worked a quick 6th inning getting 3 K's over 6 batters, but in the 7th he would slip but not fall.  Frank recorded 2 quick outs before walking the bases loaded, but Furious Frank was unphased by the situation and buckled down to end the inning as Mattice hit a soft flyout to second base.  In the 8th the Redlegs would again make things interesting as Clark led off with a single.  Burgos then exchanged Clark for Howard at first as he got him to hit into a fielders choice.  Frank got the second out of the inning with a long flyout to Jergens in center.  Furious Frank then lost his grip and plunked the Redlegs next batter to put runners at 1st and 2nd with 2 outs, but again he was unphased by the situation at hand and recorded his 4th K to end the Redlegs threat for the hold.  With a slim 5-2 lead the Royals sent Chris Jergens to the mound to close the books out for the day and he didn't waste any time.  Jergens faced 3 batters and needed just 12 pitches as he fanned the side to pickup the save and secure the Royals 3 win of the season.

Up next for the Royals are the Warren County Shockers.  The Shockers have scored 46 runs in 3 games.  Royals rookie Santel Grant will get the start for the Royals as they face off against their division rival.  As long as the rain holds off, gametime is 1:00 PM at Centerville's Oak Grove Park.  Come out and support the Boys in Blue as they look to stay on track.

The Kettering Royals and Warren County Shockers battled for the MVABL Championship on Saturday night at Athletes in Action for their best of 3 series. The Royals sent rookie Drew Dobbins to the mound for game 1, and the Shockers countered with their crafty veteran Damon Barr. The Shockers got off to a sharp start as leadoff man Chad Paden laced a single right back up the box. However, with the no hitter gone Dobbs got to work getting a lazy fly-out and a pair of K's to end the top of the first. In the bottom of the first, Royals leadoff man Brian Duffy got on base doing what he does best working a 3-1 walk. Tim Biedenharn stepped in looking to move Duffy around but was unable to connect, which brought Chris Jergens up with 1 on and 1 out. Barr battled Jergens into a full count before Jergens won the battle launching a line drive 2 run homerun just over the short right-field fence to put the Royals on the board. Dobbs continued to work in the second silencing the Shockers bats. In the bottom of the 2nd the Royals went right back to work building on their 2-0 lead. Dobbins lead off the offense with a single and was followed up by Adam Thomas 2 batters later with a single of his own. With 2 on, Brian Duffy laced a double to the gap to score Dobbins and Thomas, and he would then come around to score as Tim Biedenharn dropped a single just over the infielders before the inning came to an end. Entering the top of the 3rd the Royals held a 5-0, Chris Kuhn knocked a double to the gap to lead things off for the Shockers. Another single off the bat of Paden would score Kuhn from 2nd for the Shockers 1st run of the game, but he wouldn't be on base long as Taylor Hause would plate him with a triple. Dobbs would get Scott Garret out for the 2nd out of the inning, but Josh Allen would connect for an RBI single to plate Hause before Dobbins would get out of the inning. With a slim 5-3 lead the Royals would not score again until the bottom of the 4th when Brian Duffy would record his 2nd double of the game to plate Kevin Reynolds from 1st. Tim Bieden harn would get his 2nd RBI of the day with a double of his own to plate Duffy from second. Now with a bit of breathing room the Royals held a 7-3 lead entering the halfway point of the game. In the top of the 5th the Shockers would cut the Royals lead in half as a single and Royals fielding miscue would allow 2 runs to score. With the score holding 7-5 in the 6th the Shockers would close the gap again as the Shockers reeled off 3 singles in a row to plate Jack Millard. As the bottom of the 7th started with the Royals holding a slim 7-6 lead the Royals bullpen started to get ready, but the Royals batters recorded back-to-back-to-back hits of their own to score 3 and gain a bit of breathing room. After 7 the Royals were up 10-6, and Dobbins went back out to the mound trying to close out the game. In the top of the 8th Dobbs worked quickly only facing 4 Shockers and recorded his 7th and 8th K's of the game to get the Royals back in the dugout. In the bottom of the 8th the Dobbins again lead off the offense with a DEEP flyball that hit 2 feet down from the top of the center field fence for the easy double. Royals rookie DJ Swearingen moved Dobbins over with a sharp single. With runners on the corners 10 year Royals veteran Eric Jameson stepped into the box for his first AB of the game and quickly cashed in for the Boys in Blue belting a single that would score Dobbins and Swearingen. With a 12-6 lead Royals Skipper Mark Franklin sent Dobbins back out to the mound as he wanted to record the Complete Game, but the Shockers had different thoughts. Dobbins was able to get 2 quick outs bringing the top of the Shockers order back up to the plate. Paden got on base again for the 5th time of the day working the full count walk. He would then score as Hause was able to put a ball in play off the handle that went into right field as the setting giant ball of fire blinded Royals first baseman Shawn Rudegeair while trying to catch the throw from Dobbins. With 2 outs, Dobbins went back to the mound, but Garrett belted a double to plate Hause from 3rd. Josh Allen would again draw out the inning plating Hause with a single of his own. As the Shockers cut the Royals lead in half, and had already sent 6 batters to the plate Franklin went to the bullpen to bring Jergens in to close the door. After a brief warm-up Jergens would get an easy 1-3 groundball out to end game 1 with a Royals 12-9 victory.

After a brief break, both teams changed sides and took the field for the pivotal game 2. For the Royals a game 2 victory would claim the MVABL Championship, and a win for the Shockers would extend the series 1 more game. The Royals were the visitors in game 2 and didn't waste any time. Jergens got the first hit of game 2 lacing a single into the outfield. After a passball moved Jergens to 2nd Jesus Velasquez would plate him with a single of his own before the top of the first came to an end. With the Shockers coming to bat, the Royals sent Jason Holmberg to the mound looking to rebound from his short outting in the semi-finals a week prior, and Holmberg did not disappoint his Royals teammates. Holmberg started off the bottom of the 1st with 2 quick K's. Shockers' game 2 starter Scott Garrett tried to help his own cause with a quick single, but Holmberg snagged a shot back to the mound off the bat of Allen to end the inning. At the plate the Royals scored early and often plating runs in every inning of the game. Offensive highlights in game 2 were Biedenharn knocking a bases clearing double to plate 3 in the 4th, Swearingen recording his first solo HR as a Royal in the 6th, and Jergens belting a 3 run HR in the 8th. In the game the Royals were able to score 18 runs off 20 hits, 11 of which were extra base hits, in the 18-2 rout of the Shockers. The Royals batters wore down the Shockers pitchers over the final few innings once Garrett suffered an unfortunate shoulder dislocation and was forced to leave. On the mound for the Royals, Holmberg worked in and out of the Shockers lineup having quite possibly his best game of the year, where he recorded his highest K total of the year (9) to pickup the 8 inning complete game victory as Reynolds climbed the ladder to snag a laser off Paden's bat for the final out of the game to reclaim the MVABL Championship for the Boys in Blue.

On the day the Royals offense belted 37 total hits (14 2B / 1 3B / 3 HR) to plate 30 runs, and the defense were sharp only allowing 17 hits in 2 games. Off the mound, Dobbins and Holmberg recorded 17 total strikeouts and only offered up 4 free passes. It was a total team effort for the Boys in Blue as they were able to cap off a great season in which they went 21-10 on the year, but were 11-2 following the All-Star break to move out of the middle the league standings enroute to claim the 2010 MVABL Championship.