FIRST PITCH
Score: Tennessee Tech 8 | Queens 6
Records: Tennessee Tech (4-6 overall, 0-0 OVC) | Queens (3-7 overall, 0-0 ASUN)
Location: Charlotte, N.C. (Tuckaseegee Dream Fields, N.C.)
The Short Story: Despite a solid start from rookie southpaw Joey Ruller, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team dropped game two of the weekend series with Tennessee Tech on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-After Queens starter Joey Ruller retired the first six Golden Eagles, the Royals would strike first in the bottom of the second inning. Dillon Lewis would lead off the inning with a walk and stolen base before JD Coleman flew out to right field which advanced Lewis to third. Zach Weston would lace a single into right-center bringing across the first run. With two outs, Sam Hunter smoked a double to the right field fence and Weston came all the way around from first to beat the tag at the plate.
-Joey Ruller would keep the Golden Eagles hitless through the first four innings and allowed the offense to add onto their lead in the fourth. After a leadoff walk from JD Coleman, senior Zach Weston would single to second base and advance to second on a throwing error which brought Coleman around to score. Tennessee Tech would pick up back-to-back outs before Nick Alderfer ripped a two-out double down the left field line bringing Weston in to score.
-The visitors would finally crack through in the top of the fifth with two runs on four hits. Peyton Mills would knock a one-out home run to right field to get their offense going. Preston Ford would rip a single to shortstop before Ruller induced a fielder's choice. The Golden Eagles would capitalize on a walk with consecutive singles to plate their second run and bring the score the 4-2.
-Both offenses would go scoreless in the sixth inning before the visitors erupted for six runs on four hits to grab an 8-4 lead.
-Queens would cut into the deficit in the seventh inning with two runs on three hits. Nick Alderfer and Riley Cheek led off the inning with back-to-back singles. A one-out walk from Dillon Lewis set up a Will Budnick pinch-hit single through the right side bringing home the first run. Zach Weston would follow that up with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Cheek.
-Isaiah Bennett and Joey Rodriguez would close the final two frames for the Royals without surrendering a base runner.
-In the bottom of the ninth, Nick Brassington would open the inning by reaching first on a dropped third strike. Following back-to-back groundouts, Brassington would advance to third on a wild pitch before Zach Weston walked. With runners on the corners, the visitors would get a groundout to escape the Royals comeback effort.
BY THE NUMBERS
-The 6.1 innings pitched from Joey Ruller were the most by a Royals pitcher this season.
-Riley Cheek and Nick Alderfer increased their hitting streaks to six games.
-Zach Weston and Nick Alderfer turned in multi-hit performances as Weston led the way with three hits and two RBIs.
-Queens totaled eight hits on the day snapping a five-game streak of double-digit hits.
-The Royals left 10 runners on base in game two.
-Queens applied pressure early in the innings as the leadoff man reached in 5-of-9 innings.
NEXT UP
The Royals will play game three of the weekend series on Sunday, March 5th. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from the Tuck. Fans can follow the action live by visiting the Queens Athletics website.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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