Kettering Royals

Current Royal Slugger Ron Runyon was recently inducted into the Pikeville College Athletic Hall of Fame! What a great honor for such a great guy. Congratulations go out to Ron on this great accomplishment from the entire Royals family. From the College Press Announcement: " Hall inductions highlight first game in Expo Center PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Saturday afternoon will be a busy day at Pikeville College, as the school plays its first game in the East Kentucky Expo Center and inducts four former student-athletes in the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame. Peter Campbell, John Dotson, Ron Runyon and Charolette Shelton will join former teammates and classmates in the Hall of Fame. Campbell was a standout in both basketball and baseball, Dotson a dominant tennis player, Runyon a baseball star and Shelton a tremendous softball and volleyball player. ..... As a sophomore, Runyon led the league with 12 home runs and RBIs with 48, and his batting average of .395 was second in the conference, just missing out on triple-crown honors. Those stout statistics allowed him to finish as runner up in the voting for the league MVP honor. Runyon hit .350 as a junior and .330 as a senior, and finished with 24 home runs and 113 RBIs in his career. ..... " The complete article can be found here " Pikeville Press Release

On, December 15th 2005, former Kettering Royal, Dave Rooker, achieved Diamond VIP status as a member of the Hilton Honors program. With shear determination, Dave was able to complete 29 Qualifying Stays and 57 Qualifying Nights at Hilton Properties throughout the continental United States in 2005. As part of becoming a Diamond VIP member, Dave will receive expedited Check-ins, Free Weekday newspapers, and will earn 10 HHonors Base points for each US Dollar spent.

Well we all knew it would happen sometime, we just all didn't want it to end so soon... This year the Royals took the field with 8 new players on the 2005 roster. The veterans were excited about the squad "The Skipper" had assembled. With hard work this years team turned some heads. Hoping to leave the previous 2 4-17 seaons behind them and make them a distant memory. The Royals showed they were new and improved when they went 5-4 in the first 2 months of the season, eclipsing the previous two seaons win totals. But then the Royals entered the unfriendly month of July... In the month of July the Royals went 2-6, scoring 46 runs, and allowing a whooping 79 (9 more than the first 2 months combined). Then the dismal month ended and the Royals got back on track as the split the month of August going 2-2, with close loses to the Astros and Woodpeckers to end the season. As the playoffs approached spirits were high as they faced off against the Dayton Rangers. In a 3hr45min slugfest the Royals came out on top 22-18, but that would turn out the be the last Royal victory of the season as the squad dismantled. The Royals made the best of their next game against the woodpeckers, but they were out gunned and the squad was defeated 23-3. As the Royals entered their last game of the season they suffered another blow as one half of the twin towers (Runyon and Griffith) was missing from the lineup. The Royals fell 6-5, but they had their chances. They squad left it all on the field as Chad Campbell suffered a broken nose on a diving out stayed in as there was no replacement on the Royals bench as Little Eric Franklin did not bring his mitt this night.

As a whole there were highs and lows, close games and not so close games, but this year was a great year overall. Many records fell in less games this season than the 2001 season that most were originally set in. Griffith, Schwab, and Runyon all tied for the lead in hits this season with 37. With the help of Phil Beach's record setting 31 RBI's, Runyon also moved into the number 1 spot for runs scored with 30. Jason Griffith and Runyon both posted .400+ averages this year. Griffith added his name to the books batting a .478 on the season, good enough for the #2 spot, and Runyon fell a few hits short of #3 posting a .435. Also this season a few of the Royals veterans reached a few milestones. Eric Jameson recorded his 100th hit, and new Royals skipper, Mark Franklin, recorded his 400th at bat. These are all records and stats to be proud about. The historical and season stats are records reflecting as far back as the 2001 season. In that 2001 season the Royals posted a 9-17 record (26 games total). This is the best team record on the books until this 2005 season as the team finished 10-14 in the MVABL and 10-15 overall. This is a great accomplishment and I as the Royals skipper cannot wait for next season to get here. I wanted to say thanks to all for participating this season and we will all meet again in the Spring!!

No team is any good without any leadership, and with that the new management would like to congratulate some veterans on their new team positions. Their hard work and dedication to the organization is a true testiment to the team goal. Once again congratulations to all! Director of Player Personnel - Eric Jameson Hitting Coach - Ron Runyon Strength Coordinator/Social Director - TJ Dean Royals Scouting Director - Nathan Schwab Royals Bookkeeper/Statistician - Sarah Schwab Others spots may be filled throughout the year as they become available, or created during the course of the season... :) Regards, The Skipper

While the Royals are gearing up for the 2005 MVABL baseball season... The Royals first had to replace some familiar faces in the dugout. Long time Royals captain and leader, Neil Lynch, is taking a season off to spend some quality time in the mountains of Tibet. Dave "Turrets" Rooker is trying to make his mark in the wet leagues of Seattle where he was picked up by the Puget Sound Mets. Fireballer Bill Langdon will be lost to wedding plans and honeymoon hangover this season. "Fire Marshall" Chad Campbell is leaving to pursue his studies in the medical field. "Jazzy" Jace Anders is heading back to the motherland, Colorado Springs, to enjoy some rounds of golf in the mountains and many Air Force college womens basketball games. And another Royal, not always in the dugout, but in the field, Jason Errett is going back to school to finish up his Nuclear Physics degree. A couple other Royals are currently MIA, TJ "Mule" Connley and "Big" Chad Daniel, have gone unseen for months? New Skipper Mark Franklin was forced to fill a lot of holes left from these vacancies. After long hours and many emails the roster has started to take shape. The Royals have inked deals with 9 new players. Starting with a pair of MVABL Veterans, Jason Griffith and Bryan Braswell. Griff will be looking to help solidify the hot corner left vacant with the departure of "Jazzy" Jace Anders. Griff will also play a key role on the mound and provide some support on the hill. Braswell will provide the Royals with spot starts throughout the season and lending his bat when he can. After that the Royals have added 7 new faces to the league. The main focus of the new skipper was help on the mound. Last season the arms of Anders and Lynch had to carry the team as best they could. With that in mind, the skipper has added a slew of arms. Challenging Big Ron for Royals senior member, Christian Fugate is looking to get back into the baseball grove after a few seasons away. Young hurlers Kevin Johnson and left hander Daniel Losito also hope to give the Royals some quality innings. Phil Beach is also returning to the Royals since the 2000 season where he once threw a pair of CG in a DH! Phil is just iching to help out on the mound. And in the outfield, the Royals picked up "Broken" Steve Pennington and speedy Titus Matthews. Already on the DL, Steve is working with trainers to get back into the Royals lineup, and Titus was a bit rusty at the plate, but he was signed to a pretty hefty deal that the Royals hope he can pull through on!! :) Finally providing some all around help, Kevin Prudhoe was acquired from the draft to help in the field and provide some innings off the mound. After 1 scrimmage the Royals veterans are excited about the 2005 season. Defense looked solid and at the plate we put a lot of balls in play. With a few days until opening day, the Royals wait eagerly in anticipation. The moral is high in the clubhouse and everyone is ready for things to count for real.