Returning to the familiar confines of Heritage Yards in Plano, the Royals opened their doubleheader by falling to Unell’s Dash 22 – 16, but then stormed from behind in the nightcap to defeat Alford’s Iron Pigs 16 – 11.  Royals’ slugger, Max Henry had a career day, slamming four homeruns, and accounting for 17 of the 32 Royal runs scored in the twinbill.

Since 2015, every Royals vs Iron Pigs game has always been close and competitive, and Sunday’s game was no different.  In the nightcap, Royals’ pitcher, Rick Maucieri, scattered 16 hits, with two walks over five innings for the victory against an outstanding, power-laden Iron Pigs lineup that had just hung 22 runs on the Tigers in their previous game.

The Iron Pigs exploded out of the gate with a 7-run first inning.  Back-to-back, no-doubt-about-it, solo blasts by Tommy Apligian and Scott Lawrence put the Iron Pigs up 2 – 0.  Then the wheels came off as several uncharacteristic Royal errors enabled the Iron Pigs to bat through their entire lineup to plate five more.

The Royals got off to a very slow start, scoring only one run through the first two innings, as Iron Pigs’ ace, Lawrence, kept Royals’ hitters off balance for most of the game.  The Royals managed to pull within three runs when Henry singled home two runs in the top of the third,  and then made it a 7 – 6 game courtesy of Jason Hanlin’s 2-run bomb in the top of the fourth, his second homerun of the doubleheader.

Meanwhile, the Royals managed to keep the Iron Pigs off the scoreboard in the second and third innings, but the Iron Pigs scratched across two runs in the bottom of the fourth, giving them some breathing room and extending their lead to 9 – 6, when the Royals came up to bat in the top of the fifth.

Plate discipline was in full display as Spencer Manz singled to lead off the fifth, and then moved to third base on back-to-back walks to Cameron Moore and Reese Leonard, bringing Henry to the plate.  Earlier in the day – in the opener – Henry slammed three homeruns in three consecutive at-bats.  Through two at-bats in game 2, Henry had proved to be a mere mortal, going 2 – 2, with an RBI single in the first, and a 2-run single in the third.  However, with the Iron Pigs clinging to a 3-run lead, the bases loaded, and nowhere to put him, Henry would save his biggest homerun of the day for this moment.

As Henry whipped his bat through the strike zone and barreled a 3 – 2 pitch from Lawrence, there was little doubt of the ball’s destination as it traced an arc through the cloudless autumn sky, landing 5.3 seconds later, 408 feet from home plate.  Henry’s dramatic, game-winning grand slam to right center field put a punctuation mark on an outstanding individual performance that culminated with four homeruns slammed and 13 RBIs on the day.

Now leading, 10 – 9, still with nobody out, the flood gates opened as eight of the next nine Royals reached base via seven singles and one bases-on-balls.  Six Royals scored, making it 16 – 9.

The six insurance runs proved pivotal as the Iron Pigs displayed tremendous character and heart, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, and then loading the bases with two outs.  Long after time had expired, with the tying run in the on-deck circle, and the heart of the Iron Pigs’ order due up, the last Iron Pig hit a towering foul ball that Royals’ catcher, Scott Elfenbein, made a spectacular catch on to end the thriller.

Game 2 Offensive Stars

Max Henry  3 –4, 1 Run, 7 RBI, GS HR  GWRBI
Jason Hanlin  3 – 3, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, HR
Cameron Moore  3 – 3, 3 Runs, 1 RBI, BB
Sheldon Fulton  2 – 3, 1 Run
Spencer Manz  2 – 4, 1 Run, 1 RBI
Reese Leonard  1 – 2, 1 Run, 2 RBI, BB
Irwin Kaufman  1 – 2, 2 Runs, 1 RBI, BB
Greg Oetzmann  1 – 2, 2 Runs, BB
Larry Lachman  1 – 2, 1 Run, 1 RBI, BB

Despite Henry’s three homerun performance, the Royals lost the opener 22 – 16 to the Dash.  The Royals gifted 13 of the 22 runs to the Dash, and that, combined with another slow start, proved to be a deficit the Royals were unable to overcome.  The Royals’ bats came alive late to score 13 runs in the last two innings, but it was too little, too late.  Three other Royals – Manz, Hanlin, and Sheldon Fulton – also went yard in the losing effort.  Perennial All-Star, Darius Wu, dialed long distance for the Dash, with a 3-run blast in the top of the fourth to put the game out of reach.

Game 1 Offensive Stars

Max Henry  3 – 3, 3 Runs, 6 RBI, 3 HR
Sheldon Fulton  3 – 3, 3 Runs, 1 RBI, 2B, HR
Spencer Manz  3 – 3, 3 Runs, 1 RBI, HR
Jason Hanlin  2 – 3, 1 Run, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Reese Leonard  2 – 3, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, 2B
Greg Oetzmann  2 – 3, 1 Run, 1 RBI, 2B
Cameron Moore  2 – 3, 2 Runs, 1 RBI

Henry Blasts Four as Royals Storm from Behind to Salvage Doubleheader Split