FIRST PITCH
Score: Queens 4 | North Florida 3
Records: Queens (15-34, 10-16 ASUN) | North Florida (27-22, 18-8 ASUN)
Location: The Stick (Charlotte, N.C.)
THE SHORT STORY
Joey Ruller threw a complete game while
Jacob Grimes walked it off in the ninth as Queens evened the series at one with a 4-3 win over the University of North Florida Saturday night in
ASUN action from The Stick. With the win, head coach
Jake Hendrick earned his 200
th career win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- North Florida took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third off a two-run home run to right center.
- The Royals responded in the bottom of the third. It started when Hunter Honeycutt singled up the middle to start the inning.
Anibal Rivera dropped down a bunt single to third and was able to advance to second due to a throwing error by the third baseman. Huneycutt came all the way around from first to score and cut the lead to 2-1.
- Queens took the lead in the fourth when it plated a pair of runs on three hits.
Logan Norris opened the frame and reached first on a fielding error by the first baseman, which allowed him to head to third. He then scored when
Bradley Brown doubled to left-center to tie the game at two. Brown later advanced to third when Huneycutt singled to center with one down.
Grayson Childers gave the Royals a 3-2 lead on a fielder's choice that allowed Brown to score before the inning ended.
- Both teams went scoreless for the next three innings, but in the top of the eighth, North Florida tied the game at three.
- Ruller in the top of the ninth set North Florida down 1-2-3 to give Queens a chance to walk it off in the bottom half. Childers lead off with a walk and then moved to second when Rivera was hit by a pitch. The Royals loaded the bases when
Thomas Mathay singled to right field with no outs. North Florida was able to get a strikeout for the first out and was hoping to get a double play ball to get out of the inning and go to extras, but designated hitter Grimes had other plans for his first trip to the plate when he walked it off with a game-winning RBI single through the right side to score Childers.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Saturday's win was Queens' sixth walk-off of the season.
- Starting pitcher Ruller threw his first career complete game to cap the day began with graduating from QUC in the morning. He went nine innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, while striking out five to improve to 4-8 on the season.
- Huneycutt paced the team at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a run scored.
- Rivera, Mathay, and Norris each tallied two hits, with one of Rivera's hits being a double.
- Childers recorded a hit, an RBI, and the game-winning RBI.
- Grimes, in his only at-bat, was 1-for-1 with an RBI.
- Brown tallied a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
-
Kensen Green,
Justin Hudson,
Davin Pollard, Ruler,
Anibal Rivera Matthew Suppa and
Karter Wong all graduated Saturday morning.
NEXT UP
Queens looks to go for the series win at noon tomorrow against North Florida.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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