College Place sweeps twin bill with Royal City
Shelli Worsham/Courtesy photo - Andy Moreno waits at third base with Coach Jenks.
COLLEGE PLACE — The Knights had their three-game win streak snapped after dropping a road doubleheader with the league leading Hawks Saturday. The losses put Royal at 7-5 in East Conference play and 10-6 overall.
College Place 12
Royal 4
A single by Sawyer Jenks and a double from Corbin Christensen put the Knights out front 2-0 in the top of the first inning. The lead didn’t hold up long as the Hawks hung two on the board in the bottom of the frame on the strength of two doubles and a triple to tie it. Royal added a run in the top of the third to regain the lead.
College Place answered back with three in the home half of the inning. Two runs were unearned on a wild pitch from Kevin Reyes. The Hawks tacked on three more in the fourth and fifth innings, sandwiched between a Royal run in the top of the fifth. College Place added on in the bottom of the sixth to make it an even dozen.
The Hawks out hit the Knight 13-9. Both teams combined for five errors in the contest…three coming from Royal.
Christensen was really the lone bright spot for the Knights going 2-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBI. Keyes went four innings on the bump, giving up eight runs off nine hits and was tagged with the loss.
College Place 10
Royal 5
The Knights dug themselves a whole early down 4-0 after two innings were played. Royal pushed a run across the plate in the top of the fourth on a two-out double by Tyler Allred that scored Sawyer Jenks from third base. College Place made it 5-1 in the bottom of the inning. Two runs in the top of the fifth got the Knight back in it, 6-3. But the Hawks increased the gap to 8-3 in the bottom of the frame. Royal put two on the board in the top of the sixth. The Hawks responded with two in the home half of the inning.
The bottom line may have been quite a bit different had in not been for the six errors Royal committed in the game.
The Knights were back on the diamond for a home doubleheader with Wahluke to close out the regular season. The games were in progress when the paper went to press.
Win or lose the Knight will head to the postseason as the No. 4 seed. Royal will travel to Naches Valley or Zillah a first round district game May 8.