Dateline: Fox Mill 1
The Reston Royals saw the O’s from Great Falls and their sight generated immediate nightmares as it brought back memories of their last game against the Reston O’s. The Royals settled down and got the work. Under the steady helm of Coach Goldstein they took the field. Matt started and looked sharp. The first batter grounded back to the mound and then a single put a runner on. The next batter hit a shot to Jordyn at second who made a nice play as he tossed to Eric for out two. Matt got the last batter to ground back to the mound for out three. The Royals jumped on the O’s started with a long triple to left by Eric. Alec singled to score the run and pick up a key RBI. He moved to second on a wild pitch. Robbie singled to score Alec and stole second and passed ball got him to third. On a wild pitch, Robbie started for home, decided to come back, stumbled and dove back to third just under the tag. It was highly dramatic, but he was safe. Jake singled to score Robbie. Nihal walked. Jake moved to third on a wild pitch, but was out trying to score on another wild pitch. Nihal stole second and scored on two wild pitches. After one it was Royals 4 O’s 1.
Matt pitched the second and threw heat. The first batter grounded out to the mound. After an error and a walk, he settled down and struck out two batters in a row to end the O’s threat. The Royals went down in order in the bottom of the second. Alec came on in the third and again looked sharp. He struck out the side and gave up a couple of weak singles and only one run scored. The Royals offense continued in the bottom of the third as Ryan flew out to deep left for out one. Eric walked, Matti singled and Alec drilled a long double to score Matt and Eric. Robbie doubled to score Alec. He moved to third and scored on two wild pitches. After three the Royals had a commanding 8-2 lead.
Jake came on in the fourth and struck out the first two batters he faced. Three errors in a row and Royal fans were biting their nails. Two walks and double were good enough for four runs. Coach Goldstein brought in his ace reliever, Eric. Eric threw a couple of wild pitches two more runs scored. He settled down to strike out the last batter for out three. Six runs had scored so it was not a tie at 8-8. The Royals went down quietly in the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Eric blasted two quick strikeouts. He then gave up one of his first hits on the year with a weak single. A walk put runners on first and second, but Eric settled down and blasted three quick strikes by the next batter. Still tied at 8, the Royals came up in the bottom of the fifth. Ryan led off with a single and was caught stealing second. Royals fans groaned and wondered if Coach Grossman had remotely sent in a steal. Eric walked. Matt singled. Alec got his second extra-base hit on the day with a huge triple to score Eric and Matt. In the top of the sixth, Eric walked two batters and struck out one to make things interesting. A second strike out put two men on with two outs. Another walked loaded the bases. With everyone holding their breath Eric stared at the O’s cleanup hitter. He got ahead 0-2 and threw heat. It was a soft hopper to Robbie at first who grabbed it stepped on first for out three. Royals fans rejoiced.
Coach Goldstein was available for a brief interview. He said, “I love these guys. After the big loss, they turn around and play hard. Everyone was giving a strong second effort — those that had to play in the field two innings in a row since the O’s only had 8 players and those who had to army crawl back to third. We still need to work on getting down on grounders and making good throws to first, but the season is still young. Go Royals.”
Coach Grossman said, “Well, it sounds like a great game. Clearly more guys are hitting the ball and that is going to be a huge help to us as the season progresses.”
