Royals rack up 16 hits to go to 6-0

BROSELEY — The Twin Rivers Royals collected many base hits to snag its sixth straight win to start the season.

The Royals took on the Meadow Heights Panthers on Monday at Twin Rivers High School. After jumping out to an early lead, the Royals carried the energy throughout the game to capture a 10-6 win over the Panthers. The Royals improved to 6-0 with the win.

Royals coach Chris Newman said the team has been in a good flow, and they’ve been taking the start of the season one game at a time.

“Meadow Heights is a very tough team, so we had to be sharp with our play,” Newman said. “We just hit the ball well, and our pitchers did their job. They pitched out of some jams early on, and this was a good team win for us.”

Twin Rivers got off to a hot start in the bottom of the first inning after Luke Hester doubled, Brett Robards singled and a double from Evan Bonifield, with each scoring one run. With the wind picking up midway through the third inning, Meadow Heights took advantage and began to make their way across the plate with two runs.

Meadow Heights continued their run at the top of the fourth, cutting the lead 3-4. Unfortunately, Meadow Heights wouldn’t get across the plate for the remainder of the game, and the Royals would stay red hot from behind the plate.

Robards earned the win for Twin Rivers from the mound. The starting pitcher gave up three hits and three runs while striking out four and walking six. James Miller took the loss for Meadow Heights. He pitched six innings, surrendering 10 runs on 16 hits, striking out nine and walking one.

The Royals collected 16 hits in the game. Jake Hester collected three hits in four at-bats. He singled in the first inning, the second inning and the fourth inning. Bonifield and Jake Hester each collected three hits for The Royals. Robards, Cayden Acre, and Kendell Austin each collected multiple hits and Hester stole two bases.

Ransom Grindstaff led Meadow Heights with two runs batted in. He went 1-for-3 on the day.

“Luke has been the guy for us all year,” Newman said. “He’s been hitting it really well, but the biggest thing about Luke’s success is the guys getting on base in front of him. Our biggest thing is to keep playing for each other and not worry about win and loss records.”

LADY ROYALS 10, DEXTER 0

The Royals aren’t the only team flourishing at the bigging of the season as the Twin Rivers Lady Royals picked up their fifth straight win.

Sophomore Alexis Parson struck out 17 batters as the starting pitcher led the Lady Royals past Dexter 10-0 on Monday. Parson allowed zero hits and zero runs over six innings while walking none. The Lady Royals improved to 5-0 with the win.

The Lady Royals tallied 13 hits in the game. Senior Anne Mittelstadt led Twin Rivers with three hits in four at-bats. Parson, Katie Acre, Addysen Whitlow, and Reese Crismon each drove in two runs for the Lady Royals. Kelis Miller collected two hits for Twin Rivers in four at-bats, and the Lady Royals didn’t commit a single error in the field.

The Lady Royals will travel to Campbell for their next game on Tuesday along with the Royals, who will take on the Camels.