Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box Score
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Monday morning came early for the Royals, but the team was up to the challenge proving once again that scoring early can set the tone for the game. Bethel put two runs on the board in the first inning after
Brandon Carr scored on a
Kirby Carr single and
Ryan Doheny scored on a
Mike Gaustad sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.
The Royals got things going again in the third inning when Doheny and
Kirby Carr led the inning off with back-to-back singles and were then driven home on a two out double by
Tyler Kramer.
Good base running by
Ted Erickson helped the Royals to push the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth. This proved to be all the run support senior
Matt Pokorn would need as Bethel received another standout pitching performance. For the third straight game a Royal pitcher came out with his best stuff and shut down their opponent. Pokorn only allowed two hits and gave up two walks while striking out four in his effort against the Big Blue. He went all seven innings and is now 1-0 for the season.
The second game of the double header was not the Royals best performance, as this time the Big Blue came out and took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first inning. Three of the four runs came with two outs as Millikin strung together three straight hits. The Bethel bats were silent until the sixth inning when they scored their only two runs of the game.
Brandon Carr scored on a throwing error and
Kirby Carr would later score on a single by
Dana Hegman. Millikin would score an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth handing Bethel the 5-2 loss.
Despite a rough start, pitcher
Travis Adams threw well in the loss giving up four of the five runs in the first inning and then pitching shutout baseball until the sixth. This was the third straight complete game thrown by a Bethel pitcher. Adams now falls to 1-1 on the year.
The Bethel Royals will play the Twins rookie team on Tuesday the 20th. Following the exhibition game, there will be an Alumni event at the Twins complex for parents and alumni. The Royals return to regular season play on the 21st when they face Sewanee-U of the South (TN) and UW-Steven's Point.
