Royals Fall in Series Opener at No. 21 Milligan

MILLIGAN, TN— The Royals were shut out 5–0 by No. 21 Milligan on Friday night in the opening game of an important AAC weekend series.

The Royals were limited offensively throughout the contest, collecting just three hits on the night. Luke Wilson, Travis Hobbensiefken, and Jesse Rojas each recorded a hit, but Johnson was unable to string together opportunities against a strong Milligan pitching performance.

On the mound, Colby Reynolds kept the Royals within striking distance through much of the game, allowing four runs over 6.2 innings while striking out six. Milligan broke through in the fourth inning with an RBI single, then extended the lead with a two-run home run in the fifth. The Buffaloes added solo home runs in the sixth and eighth innings to build the 5–0 margin.

Despite the loss, Johnson remains in position to take the series heading into Saturday's doubleheader.

Following the game, head coach Dave Serrano credited Milligan's performance while keeping the focus on the bigger picture moving forward.

"Tonight was a result of Milligan just playing better baseball than us. Their starter out dueled our guy and offensively they made it very tough by taking some no quit at bats. We knew we had to win two games here and that hasn't been taken away from us yet."

The Royals will look to bounce back on Saturday as they aim to win the final two games of the series.