Royals Split Senior Day Doubleheader, Secure Series Win Over Montreat

KNOXVILLE, TN— The Royals split Saturday's doubleheader with Montreat, earning an 11–1 win in game one before falling 6–2 in game two, securing the AAC series victory while celebrating Senior Day at the ballpark.

Prior to the doubleheader, Johnson honored 11 seniors in a special pregame ceremony, and the day was highlighted by a strong turnout of alumni, adding to an already meaningful atmosphere for the program.

In game one, the Royals continued their dominant play from Friday, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Johnson scored twice in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Christian Altamirano and an RBI single from Luke Wilson.

The Royals added two more runs in the fourth and one in the fifth before breaking the game open late. A three-run seventh inning and three more in the eighth pushed the lead to 11–1. Braden Frank led the way with three RBIs, while Luke Wilson, Austin Menesini, Jesse Rojas, and Edwin Olmeda Jr. all contributed runs batted in.

On the mound, Jacob Jacome delivered a strong start, tossing 5.2 shutout innings, while Bodey Yates closed out the game to secure the win.

In game two, Johnson struck first in the opening inning as JJ Menesini drove in a run on a groundout to give the Royals a 1–0 lead. However, Montreat responded in the third inning, capitalizing on errors and timely hitting to take a 2–1 advantage before extending the lead in the fourth and fifth innings.

The Royals added a run in the sixth on an RBI single from Austin Menesini, but Montreat continued to apply pressure and added an insurance run in the seventh to secure the 6–2 victory.

Following the doubleheader, head coach Dave Serrano reflected on both the significance of the day and the performance on the field.

"Today was a special day for Johnson Baseball because we honored 11 superior young men for their time here as seniors. And then to have so many alumni come back and be proud of what we're doing and let them come on the field before game two… that was special.

Baseball-wise, I felt in game one we were in character. We got a good start out of Jacome, and then Yates comes in and shuts the door. We did an excellent job, like we did in game one, of scoring a lot of runs and producing a lot of good offense.

Game two, I felt we disrespected the game, to be honest. There was a lot going on between games, and I just felt like we came out flat and the game got us. But win or lose, we still have to win two out of three next weekend at Milligan.

I hope, like I said to them, that we learn something from this going into a very important stretch of our season… that we can't take anything for granted. It's human nature, but hopefully it's a learning lesson for us moving forward."

With the series win, the Royals take two of three from Montreat and continue to position themselves well in AAC play as they prepare for another key conference weekend on the road at Milligan.