
4/20/2022 10:42:00 PM | Baseball
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Nick Melton led the Royals at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Nick Brassington and Dillon Lewis each blasted a home run for the Royals while Matt Riley added an extra base hit of his own. Along with Melton, Riley Cheek also had a multi-hit day going 2-for-5 on the day with two singles.
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With runners on the corners, a wild pitch by the Royals plated the first run of the game for the Crusaders in the top of the first. After a scoreless second, the Royals would take their first lead of the game with a three-run third. Nick Melton would lead the inning off with a double before later scoring on a fielder's choice to tie the game. An error and then a no-doubt two-run home run by Dillon Lewis gave the Royals the lead. The blast was the freshman's seventh this season, and second in the last three games.
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In the fourth, a single and a double would put two runners in scoring position for the Crusaders. On the next batter, they would score on a wild pitch, however, a pop out and a strikeout limited the damage to just one run.
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Maintaining their slim 3-2 lead, Nick Melton led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run over the left field fence, extending the Royals' lead to 4-2. The round tripper was Melton's third this season, and first since April 6 at UNC Pembroke. In the sixth, a leadoff double, a walk, and a single loaded the bases for the Crusaders. A pop out to the infield would follow, however, a sacrifice fly plated the first run of the inning. On the next at-bat, the Crusaders would tie the game at 4-4 with an RBI single.
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In the seventh, the Crusaders would plate five runs taking a commanding 9-4 lead. With two runners in scoring position, a two-out two-RBI single gave the Crusaders the lead again. An infield single, an error and an RBI single plated two more for the Crusaders.
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The Royals would attempt to claw back, as Nick Brassington would hit his team-leading 15th home run of the year in the bottom of the seventh. With a runner on first, his two-run home run cut the deficit to 9-6 for the Royals. The senior now sits at second in the South Atlantic Conference just one home run off the leader.
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Two home runs in the eighth for the Crusaders extended their lead to 12-6. The Royals would put a runner in scoring position, however, a flyout to centerfield ended the threat. In the ninth, with runners on first and second the Royals turned a double play to end the Crusaders threat. They headed into the final frame, trailing 12-6.
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The Royals would draw a one-out walk, however, they would otherwise be put down in order as they fell to the Crusaders 12-6 in the midweek bout.
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The Royals return to action this weekend, as they travel on the road for a conference series against UVA Wise. The first pitch on Friday night, April 22nd, is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The weekend is a crucial series for the Royals, as they are battling with Lincoln Memorial for a top-four seed in next week's South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nate Roof (1-0)
L: Efird, Blake (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Gehrig Octavio 1 ; Ethan Stringer 1 ; Marek Chlup 1 ; Jordan Holladay 1
HR: Jax Cash 1 ; Cory Bivins 1
RBI: Gehrig Octavio 2 ; John Michael Faile 2 ; Marek Chlup 2 ; Jax Cash 1 ; Cory Bivins 2
SF: John Michael Faile 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gehrig Octavio 2 ; Ethan Stringer 1 ; John Michael Faile 1 ; Pat Monteith 1 ; Jax Cash 2 ; Jordan Holladay 2 ; Darrien Whitaker 1 ; Cory Bivins 2
HBP: Ethan Stringer 1

Batting:
2B: Riley, Matt 1 ; Melton, Nick 1
HR: Brassington, Nick 1 ; Lewis, Dillon 1 ; Melton, Nick 1
RBI: Riley, Matt 1 ; Brassington, Nick 2 ; Lewis, Dillon 2 ; Melton, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cheek, Riley 1 ; Brassington, Nick 2 ; Lewis, Dillon 1 ; Melton, Nick 2
HBP: Lewis, Dillon 1



















