Royals Dominate No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett in Series Opener

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA— The Royals opened their non-conference series in statement fashion Friday night, defeating No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett 10–4 behind a dominant middle-inning surge and strong pitching.

After falling behind 1–0 in the second inning, the Royals responded in the fourth with a big swing from Izaak Fernandez, who launched a three-run home run to left field to give Johnson a 3–1 lead.

Johnson added another run in the fifth inning when Travis Hobbensiefken delivered an RBI single to extend the advantage to 4–1. Georgia Gwinnett answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to 4–3, but the Royals quickly took control for good.

The sixth inning proved to be the difference, as Johnson erupted for six runs. Christian Altamirano got the scoring started with an RBI single, followed by Edwin Olmeda Jr. adding another run with a base hit. Luke Wilson then broke the game open with a two-run single, and Fernandez added his fourth RBI of the day with another run-scoring hit. Braden Frank capped the inning with an RBI fielder's choice as the Royals stretched the lead to 10–3.

Georgia Gwinnett added one more run in the bottom of the sixth, but Johnson's pitching staff shut things down the rest of the way.

Colby Reynolds earned the win, going 6.1 innings while allowing four runs and striking out two. Bodey Yates came on in relief and closed the door, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to secure the victory.

Offensively, the Royals totaled 11 hits and showed patience at the plate with 10 walks. Fernandez led the way with four RBIs, while Wilson added three hits and two RBIs. Hobbensiefken and Altamirano also contributed multi-hit performances as Johnson applied constant pressure throughout the lineup.

Head coach Dave Serrano credited the team's toughness and ability to respond throughout the game.

"Tonight's game one of the series was about resiliency and toughness by our team. We did many things good in all phases of the game and this was a true team win."

With the win, the Royals take game one of the series and will look to continue their momentum against one of the top teams in the country.