FIRST PITCH
Score: Samford 12 | Queens 2
Records: Samford (1-0 overall) | Queens (0-1 overall)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Jon Lee Griffin Field)
 
The Short Story: The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team opened their 2024 campaign against 2023 regional qualifier Samford on Friday afternoon. The Royals fell on opening day despite a two-run blast from senior Connor Manco.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-After a scoreless first inning, the Bulldogs came out with a different approach blasting three home runs and plating five runs in the second frame. Samford would cap off the inning with a one-out RBI single through the left side following an error by the Royals.
-Samford would push across another run in the bottom half of the fourth as Josh Rodriguez sent a double into left field for his second extra base hit of the night.
-The Royals would answer in the fifth inning with their first runs of the new campaign.
Following a one-out single from Tyler Cotto, senior lefty Connor Manco belted a two-run blast over the right field fence cutting the deficit to 7-2.
-The Bulldogs would respond in the bottom half of the fifth with two runs of their own. A single, a stolen base, a walk, and then a double steal put two runners in scoring position for Samford before they plated both on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.
-The hosting Bulldogs would take advantage of the Royals mistakes in the bottom of the seventh plating three runs on one hit, four walks, and one error to claim the 12-2 victory on opening night.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-Senior Connor Manco led the Royals on offense with a 1-for-3 day, which included his two-run blast in the fifth inning. The home run marked the Fort Mill natives third of his career.
-Outfielder Matthew Corlew had the second of the Royals two extra base hits with a two-out double in the sixth inning.
-The Royals bats will look to bounce back tomorrow as they totaled four hits, two walks, and were fanned 12 times.
-On the bump, Queens issued 10 free passes and the Bulldogs capitalized with six runs.
-Kansas State transfer Landry Jurecka made his first career start on the bump for the Royals and allowed six runs while striking out three across 3.2 innings of work.
-The Royals managed to apply pressure early in the innings as the lead off batter reached safely in 3-of-7 innings.
 
NEXT UP
Queens and Samford will return to the diamond on Saturday, February 17^th for game two of the weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST. Fans can follow the action via live stats which can be found on the Queens Athletics website.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the baseball program on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with Queens Baseball throughout the offseason. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics, to stay up to date with all of the Royals' Athletics.