Box Score DAHLONEGA, GA. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team (5-6) dropped the weekend rubber match with the No. 19 North Georgia Nighthawks (7-2) by a final score of 10-3 on Sunday afternoon. The nationally ranked Nighthawks took the weekend series 2-1 despite the Royals winning the extra inning affair yesterday, 5-4.
 
After the offense was silenced through six innings, the Royals managed to plate a pair in the seventh on one swing. Dillon Lewis led off the inning with a double down the left field line before Alex Sexton launched his second home run of the season to get Queens on the board. Sexton led the Royals with two RBI's while Nick Melton extended his hitting streak to nine games following a single in the fifth inning.
 
The Nighthawks wasted no time applying pressure on the Royals starting pitcher, Kei Yamagishi (0-1). In the first inning, a lead off walk followed by a single gave the home team the first scoring opportunity of the afternoon. A ground out to first base would advance both runners up before Yamagishi recorded consecutive strikeouts to escape the early jam.
 
North Georgia would break through first in the second inning plating four runs on five hits. The bottom half of the inning started with back-to-back singles and a double to score the first run. The Nighthawks would manufacture two more runs despite sacrificing two outs. North Georgia would add an extra run with two-out following a pair of singles.
 
The Royals bats would be silenced again in the third inning as the visiting Royals only recorded one single through three innings courtesy of Dillon Lewis. The nighthawks would extend their lead to 6-0 on three hits, including a pair of doubles.
 
Queens would threaten for the first time in the top of the fifth inning. Nick Alderfer opened the inning with an infield single giving the Royals their second hit of the afternoon. With two outs, Nick Melton placed a single down the right field line moving Alex Sexton up to third after he reached on a fielder's choice. With runners on the corners, the Nighthawks managed to work out of the jam picking up a strikeout to end the inning.
 
After a three-run sixth inning extended the North Georgia lead to 9-0, Queens finally found an offensive rhythm in the seventh. A leadoff double from Dillon Lewis set the tone for an Alex Sexton home run to cut the deficit to 9-2. The big fly was Sexton's second round tripper this season. A lockdown bottom of the inning got the Royals back to the plate looking to cut into the lead more. Nick Brassington opened the eighth with a single before MJ Sasapan laced a one-out double into the left field corner. Dillon Lewis would ground out to shortstop and bring home Brassington to cut the lead to 9-3.
 
The Royals will travel back to Charlotte and prepare for a five game homestand, beginning Wednesday, Feb. 23 against Erskine College at 2:00 p.m. The Royals dropped the Fleet on the road earlier in the season 19-6. Following the midweek matchup, the Royals will open South Atlantic Conference play when they welcome Tusculum for a three-game series at the Tuck next weekend. 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.