SALISBURY, N.C. – In their second South Atlantic Conference weekend series, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team (9-8, 3-1 SAC) suffered a tough 2-1 loss at Catawba (10-8, 1-0 SAC) on Friday night at Newman Park. The loss is the Royals first conference loss after sweeping the weekend opener last weekend.
 
The Royals offense was limited all night as they tied their season-low in hits with four. As a team, Queens has averaged 10 hits per game through their first 17 games. Freshman Matt Riley finished the evening with four hits while Christian Maggio and Broadus Roberson both added a hit. On the mound, Royals starter Nick Charleson had another great outing despite the loss. The senior tossed six innings while fanning seven Indians, surrendering seven hits and two runs. The performance was the Laurinburg, N.C. natives third start in which he went at least six innings.
 
The Royals wasted no time getting on the board first as they plated the first run of the game in the second inning. Broadus Roberson entered the game after Nick Brassington led off the inning with a hit by pitch forcing the senior to exit the game. Roberson swiped second before Christian Maggio laced a 3-2 pitch into center field bringing Roberson around to score. The graduate student has reached safely in three straight games and increased his RBI total to six.
 
The Royals bats would be held in check until the eighth inning as the Indians starter retired the next 18 Royals in order. Greg Brown hurled a complete game with 10 strikeouts for the Indians. In the top of the eighth, Matt Riley knocked his second hit of the game to open the inning. Zach Weston would fulfill pinch hit responsibility and drop down a sacrifice bunt to advance the tying run into scoring position. However, the Catawba starter buckled in and recorded back-to-back flyouts to escape the late jam.
 
The Indians would tie the game in the fourth inning on a solo homerun before taking the lead on a one-out double down the right field line. Tanner Jacobson would be effective out of the Royals bullpen again holding the Indians to just a pair of base runners in the final two innings giving the Royals offense a chance. Jacobson's two inning performance was the juniors eighth appearance on the season. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native has not allowed a run in his last three appearances spanning five innings.
 
The Royals will return to the diamond tomorrow, March 5, for a doubleheader against the Indians. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. while game two will start at approximately 6:00 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.