FIRST PITCH
Score: Eastern Kentucky 10 | Queens 8
Records: EKU (10-25 overall, 7-8 ASUN) | Queens (10-25 overall, 6-9 ASUN)
Location: Richmond, Ky. (Earle Combs Stadium)
 
The Short Story: Despite overcoming a 6-0 deficit, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team fell 10-8 in the final game of the three-game series against Eastern Kentucky.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Colonels got on the board first in the second inning. Following a leadoff double, Ron Franklin blasted a 3-0 pitch over the center field fence.
-EKU extended their lead in the third as a walk and two hit batters loaded the bases with one out. Franklin blasted his second home run in two innings over the left field fence to give the Colonels a commanding 6-0 lead.
-The Royals responded in the fourth inning with two runs of their own. Will Budnick and Matthew Corlew recorded singles to create a scoring threat for the Royals. Tyler Peters cashed in with a double into the left center field gap to score both Peters and Corlew to trim the EKU lead to 6-2.
-Queens continued to crawl their way back in the fifth as they pushed across three runs. Dillon Lewis created a scoring threat with a one-out double before he was brought home on a Jake Barbour RBI triple. Nick Alderfer then had an RBI-double as the Royals scoring threat remained. Two batters later, Corlew smacked a single into left center to score a run before a ground out ended the Royals threat.
-The Royals capped off their comeback taking the lead in the sixth inning. After an Andrew McDermott double, Dillon Lewis legged out an inside the park home run for the Royals.
-The Colonels quickly responded in the bottom half of the sixth inning. EKU scored two runs on back-to-back two-out singles to retake the lead heading into the seventh inning.
-In the bottom of the seventh, two walks created a scoring threat for the Colonels. The home team would cash in on the opportunity with an RBI-double down the right field line to extend their lead to 10-7.
-In the ninth, the Royals created another scoring threat, as a double, a fielder's choice, and a walk put runners on the corners with two outs. Matthew Corlew pushed across a run for the Royals to trim the deficit to 10-8 on their final out. However, a flyout ended the Royals threat as they fell to the Colonels.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-Dillon Lewis extended his on-base streak to 20 straight games with a 2-for-5 afternoon, including a home run and a double. The streak tied Riley Cheek for the longest in Division 1 program history.
-Former Colonel Matthew Corlew posted a 3-for-5 game, including two RBIs. The senior hit .538 on the weekend with eight runs driven in.
-Junior Nick Alderfer turned in a season-high 3-for-5 day at the plate. The designated hitter roped a double while scoring a run and driving in a run.
-Rookie Jake Barbour mailed in his third straight multi-hit game with a 2-for-5 afternoon. The performance extended his hitting streak to six straight games.
-Will Budnick, Tyler Peters, Tyler Cotto, and Andrew McDermott added a hit for the Royals. Budnick has recorded a hit in 10 of the last 11 games while Peters notched a hit in every game this weekend.
-Jack Brooker recorded 2.1 solid innings of work allowing just one run on one hit with one strikeout.
-The Royals recorded 14 hits on the afternoon marking the third straight game Queens posted 10+ hits.
 
NEXT UP
Queens will travel down I-85 to Spartanburg to take on USC Upstate on Tuesday evening. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
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.