CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Queens University of Charlotte (9-7, 3-0 SAC) baseball team dropped their midweek tilt with UNC Pembroke University (8-5, 5-1 CC), 10-8, at Tuckaseegee Dream Fields on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. The loss snapped the Royals four-game winning streak, as they will now prepare for a three-game weekend series against Catawba this weekend on the road.
 
Five Royals, Nick Melton, Riley Cheek, Garrett Evans, Nick Brassington and Christian Maggio had multi-hit performances on the afternoon. Nick Brassington smashed a pair of home runs on the day, while Garrett Evans added one of his own as well. Brassington's two home runs keeps him in the top five in the league with six total. Nick Melton extended his hitting streak to thirteen games as he has been one of the hottest and most consistent hitters in the country.
 
Both sides wasted no time putting runs on the board. The Braves put up a quick five spot capitalizing on four walks. However, the Royals would respond with a three-run two out rally in the first. A Garrett Evans single scored Carter Foster from second before Nick Brassington belted his first home-run of the game over the left field fence to cut the Braves lead to 5-3.
 
The scoring would settle down momentarily in the second, as both sides went scoreless. In the third, the Braves would add two more after back-to-back walks and a double steal put runners on second and third with one out. A sacrifice bunt would bring around both runs as aggressive baserunning proved successful. Nick Brassington would quickly respond in the bottom half, as he smashed a 2-2 fastball down the left-field line for his second homerun of the game and sixth of the season. The Braves led the Royals, 7-4, heading into the fourth.
 
The Royals would leave a Braves runner on second in the fourth, to keep the score 7-4. In the Royals half of the inning, a Nick Melton double was followed up by a Riley Cheek double which brought Melton around to score to cut the lead to 7-5. In the following at-bat, Garrett Evans smoked the first pitch of the at bat over the left field fence. With the Royals third home run of the game, they tied the game 7-7 heading into the fifth.
 
The Royals and Braves would remain deadlocked heading into the seventh. After working out of a seventh-inning jam, the Royals would come in and manufacture a run taking the lead, 8-7. Riley Cheek led off the inning with a double before Garrett Evans singled into left field putting runners on the corners with no outs. Nick Brassington would ground into a double play, but Cheek would score to give Queens the advantage.
 
However, the Braves would strike back quickly as a homerun, single and then another home run on consecutive hits, gave them a 10-8 lead into the bottom of the eighth. They would retire the next six Royals batters in order, as the Braves held on to win.
 
The Royals return to action when they travel to Salisbury, N.C. for a three-game series this weekend against the Catawba Indians. Friday's first pitch is scheduled at 6:00 p.m. Saturday will be a doubleheader between the Royals and the Indians, with the first game scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and the second game having an estimated start time of 6pm.
 
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