A slow start on Sunday left room for improvement for the Royals in their doubleheader against Eusay’s Tigers and Brumley’s Braves.  After losing the first game to the Tigers 8 – 5, the Royals’ potent offense came out swinging in the nightcap, and got a stellar relief pitching performance by Matt Ruckel en route to a 14 – 3 victory over the Braves. 

The Royals came out flat in the first game, in what turned out to be a defensive struggle on field 3, with a gale force wind blowing in from left field.  Tigers’ rookie, Taylor Abrego, was a one-man wrecking crew, with his double, triple, and inside-the-park homerun accounting for seven of the Tigers eight runs as the Tigers built an 8 – 2 lead. 

The Royals bats finally woke up in the bottom of the sixth, but it was too little, too late.  Brian Criswell went 3 – 3, scored two runs, and had one RBI from the leadoff position to lead the Royals, while Royals’ left fielder, Sheldon Fulton, channeled his inner Willie Mays with stunning accuracy in the fifth inning.  Former Royal, Carlos Moran blasted a deep fly ball to left field, and Fulton took off running with his back turned to the infield, never lost track of the ball, and made the unbelievable basket catch.

Not 10 minutes removed from scoring only five runs, the Royals hung 14 runs on the Braves in the nightcap.  Max Henry was on fire at the plate, going 4 – 4 with three singles and a double, accounting for five of the Royals’ 14 runs (scoring two and driving in three). 

Criswell and Ruckel walked and scored to open the game.  The Braves quickly tied it up in the bottom of the first, and the game remained tied heading to the third.  In the top of the third – after the Braves recorded two quick outs – Ruckel drew his second walk of the game.  From that point on, seven consecutive Royals reached base via a hit.  Henry and Spencer Manz singled, making it 4 – 3, and scored on Robert Garcia’s clutch 2-run triple.  Garcia scored on Mike Anders’ RBI single, and then Anders came around to score on Fulton’s exhilarating inside-the-park homerun, his first round tripper of the season.  In a blink of an eye it was 8 – 2.

The bottom of the third was an eventful inning for the Royals, for one very bad reason, and one very good reason.  Being a pitcher in our league is scary sometimes, especially when a batter hits a pitch right on the screws back up the middle, and when that happens, it’s downright terrifying.  Anders and the Royals had one of those moments on Sunday as the Braves leadoff batter took a line drive right back up the pipe that slammed into Anders just above his right ankle, leveling the 6’4” pitcher.  After several minutes, Anders was able to finish the inning; but with a deep contusion to, and severe swelling at the base of his tibia, it would be his last inning pitched of the day.

After recording the second out of the third inning, the Royals were one out away from receiving a shutdown inning from the injured Anders.  Up stepped Omar Gonzalez, who rifled a ball into the right centerfield gap, that rolled all the way to the wall.  Picture perfect.  That is the best way to describe the 9–4–2 relay as Criswell got the ball back to the infield quickly, and second baseman, Travis Woods made a strong throw to catcher David Caldwell.  Gonzalez was called out on the bang-bang play that ended the inning, preserved the Royals’ six run lead, and kept all the momentum on the Royals’ side.

With Anders injured and on the bench, Ruckel came on in relief, and other than giving up a solo shot to Braves’ slugger, Tim Kaminski, he was dominant in holding the Braves scoreless the rest of the way, as he and Anders – backed by the Royals’ outstanding defense – combined to scatter seven hits in the 14 – 3 victory.

Game 2 Offensive Stars

Max Henry  4 – 4, 2 Runs, 3 RBI, 2B
Robert Garcia  3 – 4, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, 3B
Matt Ruckel  3 BB, 3 Runs, 1 RBI 
Scott Elfenbein  2 – 3, 2 Runs
Greg Oetzmann  2 – 3, 1 RBI
Sheldon Fulton  2 – 4, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, 2-run HR
Spencer Manz  2 – 4, 1 Run, 1 RBI