TIGERVILLE, S.C. – Opening up a four-game road stand, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team (4-4) dropped their Tuesday tilt 5-2 against the North Greenville Crusaders (5-2) at Ray and Bea Dillard Field. The afternoon was an early regional test for the Royals as the Crusaders checked in at No. 10 in the NCBWA Southeast Region poll.
 
The afternoon was an established bullpen game from both teams, and the Royals were able to see new arms toe the rubber. Seven Royals took the mound for Queens and surrendered five runs on eight hits. Freshman Kobie Cushing (0-1) got the ball for his first career start tossing two innings and allowing a run on one hit.
 
The scoring didn't start until the second inning when the Crusaders capitalized on a two-out walk. The rookie right hander, Kobie Cushing, picked up two early outs before issuing a four-pitch walk. North Greenville would apply pressure and swipe second base before a single into center field brought home the game's first run.
 
In the bottom of the third, the Crusaders scratched across two more runs on one hit as they capitalized on three Royals walks.
 
The Royals bats would be held at bay through the first five innings despite the leadoff man reaching in four of the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, the Royals cashed in following a leadoff walk by Christian Maggio. Scorching hot senior Nick Brassington launched a 1-1 pitch down the right field line for his fourth home run of the season and 12^th RBI cutting the deficit to 3-2. Queens would continue to threaten in the inning as Garrett Evans worked a walk and swiped second. Nick Melton would shoot a one-out single off the third base bag advancing the runners to the corners. The Crusaders bullpen managed to escape the damage unscathed picking up consecutive strikeouts to maintain the lead.
 
North Greenville would waste no time responding in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run down the left field line. The Crusaders would add an insurance run and extend the lead to 5-2 with three more singles in the inning. The bullpen would do their job the remainder of the evening holding the Royals offense to a pair of hits as they locked down the victory 5-2.
 
On the evening, the Royals plated three runs on six hits while the Crusaders scored five runs on eight hits and one error. Five different Royals tallied a hit on the afternoon, including Riley Cheek, Carter Foster, Nick Brassington, Garrett Evans, and Nick Melton. The solo shot from Brassington marks the seventh game this season with a hit and fifth game with two RBI's. Melton's single down the third base line extends his hitting streak to six games. The Royals left 11 guys on the bases in the loss.
 
The Royals will stay on the road for a weekend series at the University of North Georgia beginning on Friday, Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m. Be sure to follow the Royals baseball program on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates. Fans can also follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics to get updates on all things Royals Athletics.