Kettering Royals

The Royals have had a rough two Sundays the last 2 weeks.  First they split with the Bats after winning 11-1 in game 1 the Boys in Blue blew a 9 run lead, with the help of a book error and a handful of errors, lost game 2 to the Bats 10-11  Then this past Sunday the team appeared to be a bit hungover from their Bats defeat as they were still bitten by the Error bug allowing the Thunder to build a cushy 14-0 run lead after only 3 innings.  The Royals went to the bullpen to try and salvage the game and Bryan Murphy entered the game and did just that.  He pitched the final 6 1/3 innings only allowing 1 hit, 1 run, and notching 5 K's while the Royals offense tried to mount a comeback.  However they ran out of innings on the day and fell 12-15 when the final out was made.

Then this Tuesday the Royals were back in action in the bounce-back game against the Bats.  Facing the Bats in their final divisional game the Royals sent Zach Ryan to the mound for the start in his first game back in almost 6 weeks.  The Bats scored first with a RBI single by P. Dickerson in the top of the 1st.  The Royals evened it up in the bottom of the 1st as Reynolds singled, stole 2nd and then advanced to 3rd on an overthrow.  Holmberg beleted a sharp single to right to plate Reynolds to even the game at 1's.  In the top of the 3rd though the Bats would get back on top as Mefford belted a triple to right to score 2.  Down 1-3 in the bottom of the 3rd after singles again from Reynolds and Holmberg, Brad Koopman was able to turn on a fastball for the key 3 run homerun to left to put the Royals up 4-3.  Ryan continued to work on the mound, but in the top of 6th Armour led off the inning with a solo shot to center to tie the game at 4.  As the game moved into the 7th the Bats would threaten to take the lead.  Ryan induced an easy 4-3 out to start of the inning.  P. Dickerson singled but was later forced out at second on a FC, and then S. Dickerson singled and Fannnin walked they were able to advance on a hard curve in the dirt.  With 2 outs and the winning and go ahead runs on 2nd and 3rd Ryan was able to punchout Armour for his 9th K of the game and close out the top of the 7th.  The Royals then came to the plate looking to be on the winning end of late rally and Bryan Murphy started things out with a hot shot to second that he was able to beat out.  Holmberg then worked the walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 0 outs, bringing B. Koopman to the plate.  After a brief timeout Koopman had the green light to swing away to go for the victory and he came through.  He knocked a single just out of Fannin's reach at 1st and Murphy hustled around 3rd and was able to beat the throw to the plate for the game winner!

 After the 2 losses it was nice to finally win the close one that always seem to slip away and get back into the win column.  The Royals will travel to Rotary Park this Sunday as they will meet up in their final game against the new Wright Knights.  Game time is 4pm, come out and cheer on your Boys in Blue.

The Royals fell Sunday night under the lights 8-3 to the Mariner's, who were also the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year.  It was a tough game for the Royals as their hot bats were choked up in the humid conditions and only mustered 8 hits on the night.  On the other side though the Mariner's only managed 9 total hits, but theirs came at opportune times with runners on base as a result of some untimely walks.  It was a tough game, but some solid defense kept the Royals off the bases and as a result off the scoreboard.  The Royals will look to regroup as they'll see the Mariner's again in 2 weeks.

The Royals met up with the Brick City Braves on Sunday in their 3rd and final matchup of the 2013 season. The Royals were joined by some new faces and sent one of them to the mound for his first start of the season. Taking the hill for the Royals was former Northmont Ace Bryan Murphy. The Braves shut the Royals offense down in the top of the first as Kevin Reynolds was narrowly caught stealing at Second and then the Braves turned a double play on a hard hit line drive off the bat of Chris Jergens that caught Brian Duffy a bit too far off first to end the top half of the first. In the bottom of the first Murphy looked sharp. He got a quick 6-3 out on the very first pitch he threw, got Wylie to strikeout, and ended the 1st with at easy 4-3 to bring the Royals back up to the plate. In the top of the second the Royals were able to plate their first run. Paul Wilson was able to reach on a single and then move over to third with the help of a single off the bat of Matt Koopman. With runners on the corners Brad Koopman hit a hard grounder that the Braves pitcher Earley fielded for the 1-3, but Wilson was able to scamper home for the first run of the game. In the bottom of the second Murphy continued to work through the Braves batters. Wright led of the bottom with a sharp single up the middle and would move to second on a ball in the dirt, but that would be as close as he would get as Murphy struckout Groves, got Earley to flyout to Matt Finster at second, and then he ended the second with an easy 1-3 of his own. With the 1-0 lead entering the third the Royals were able to extend their lead. Jake Wilson belted a double to the gap that was able to score Reynolds and Brian Duffy from first and second before the top half of the third came to an end. With the 3-0 lead Murphy picked up 3 straight strikeouts to end the 3rd. In the 4th the Royals started to heat up as the knocked out 4 hits for 5 runs highlighted by Reynolds shot to the Right-Center gap that he was able to leg out the rare inside the park homerun. With the Royals now up 8-0 they went to the bullpen to bring in another Royals Rookie, Zach Ryan, Miamisburg grad, for his shot on the mound. He picked up right where Murphy led of fanning 3 in a row to close out the 4th. Entering the top half of the 5th the Royals would wear down the Braves pitching and defense. In the top half inning they would send 11 batters to the plate, belt out 5 more hits and score 8 runs. Jake Wilson capped off the 5th hitting a 2 run homerun over the leftfield fence off the first pitch the Braves new pitcher threw. Now up 16-0 the Braves had a steep hill to climb to extend the game. Ryan went back to the mound and got his 4th straight strikeout, but a little control issues walked the Groves and he was able to advance to second on a passball, however 1 pitch before a back-to-back he tried to advance to 3rd on a blocked ball where he was caught stealing for the 2nd out. On the next pitch Earley would get to first on the free pass, but Ryan closed out the game getting Sisco to strikeout.

The Royals are off to their best start in team history winning 7 straight games. Up next for the Boys in Blue though they will face the Ohio Mariners, the team who knocked the team out of the playoffs in 2012 before advancing to the league finals. The Mariners have added some new faces to their lineup after an offseason combo with the Shockers. The Royals will again play under the lights at AIA as they will play at 7:00 PM, be sure to come out early and cheer on your Boys in Blue as they look to stay perfect.

Offensive Highlights:
    Jake Wilson 2-4 // 2B // HR // 4 RBI
    Chris Jergens 1-3 // 2B // 2 runs // 3 RBI

Defensive Highlights:
    Bryan Murphy 3 IP Win // 2 hits // 5 K's // 0 BB
    Zach Ryan 2 IP // 0 hits // 5 K's

Kevin Reyonlds was named the MVABL Pitcher of the Week for his performance in the Royals Double-Header against the Brick City Braves.  For probably the first time in MVABL history Reynolds started both games and picked up the victory in both, but more impressive than just starting is that he started and finished picking up a pair of 5 inning complete game wins in both games.  In the 2 game set Reynolds scattered 6 hits in total, had 0 Walks, and racked up 14 strikeouts.  The defense played well behind him as Reynolds went 1-2-3 in 6 of the 10 innings played on the day.  Congratulations on being named the MVABL Pitcher of the Week for April 28th.

The Royals took the field Sunday under cloudy skies to face the new Wright Knights, but the Boys in Blue were looking to heat things up early. Roylas veteran Jason Holmberg was on the mound for his third start of the season. The Knights were at the plate first and they came out swinging as the rain started to fall. Bristol got things started for the Knights with a leadoff double and then moved over to 3rd after a pass ball. McKenzie was able to score Bristol with a sharp single for the 1-0 lead. The Knights would get runners at 1st and 2nd with 1 out, and Sobotka laced a hard hit ball to right that would've plated 2 as the Knights were running on the full count pitch. However Roylas veteran outfielder Eric Jameson used his height advantage to nab the ball sailing over his head to send the Knights retreating to their bases. Brad Koopman ended the top half of the inning picking off his 2nd runner of the inning. The Knights lead was short lived as Kevin Reynolds reached with a leadoff single and got into scoring position swiping 2nd 2 pitches later. Brian Duffy plated Reynolds with his 1st of 3 hits to tie the game at 1. As the 2nd inning got started Holmberg got into his groove on the mound as the theKnights went down 1-2-3 with the help of B. Koopman's 3rd runner caught stealing. From there Holmberg kept the Knights in check only allowing 1 more hit over the course of the game. In the bottom half of the 2nd with the game tied at 1 the Royals bats started to heat up. Frank Burgos reached base with the free pass and Reynolds moved him around with a single. Duffy broke the tie with a double to score Burgos from 2nd, and Holmberg then cleared them with his first single of the game. With the 4-1 lead, Holmberg kept the Knights at bay as the Boys in Blue offense kicked it into high gear as they would send 21 batters to the plate over the 3rd and 4th innings and score 6 runs in each inning. Jake Wilson gave the Royals enough to end the game early as he score Duffy from 1st with a triple to the fence and was able to scamper home on the errant throw. With the game out of reach for the Knights, Holmberg took the mound to close it out. He was able to get a quick groundout to 3rd and a strikeout, but with 2 outs the Knights would threaten to extend the game as they would load the bases with 2 walks and their 4th hit. However Holmberg was unphased with the bases loaded as he faced McKenzie, who belted a single to score the Knights only run way back in the 1st. McKenzie worked the full count, but Holmberg pulled the string and and got the strikeout to end the game with the Royals on top 16-1.

The Royals are playing good baseball all-around as they stay perfect through 6 games. Offensive highlights include Kevin Reynolds and Brian Duffy who were both a perfect 3-3 with a walk at the plate, and Duffy and Jason Holmberg each notched 5 RBIs apiece. On defense Holmberg picked up right where Reynolds left off a week prior with a solid outing of his own. He got the 5 inning win only allowing 4 hits and picking up 4 K's.

Up next for the Boys in Blue is their 3rd and final game of the regular season with the Brick City Braves. They play the 7pm game under the lights at AIA. Come out to cheer on the Royals as they are off to their best start in franchise history.