Royals Come Up Short in Tight Doubleheader at Columbia

The Lady Royals came up just short in both games of Friday's doubleheader against Columbia (S.C.), falling 3-2 in Game 1 and 5-4 in Game 2.

The Lady Royals battled throughout the day, holding late leads in both contests, but were unable to hold off late rallies from Columbia.

In the opener, Johnson found themselves trailing 2-0 early before chipping away. An RBI single from Reese Burns in the fifth cut the deficit in half, and Dylan Jablonski tied the game in the sixth with a run-scoring single.

The game remained tied heading into the bottom of the seventh until Columbia delivered a walk-off solo home run to secure the 3-2 victory.

Jablonski led the Royals offensively with two hits and an RBI, while Aly Dickerson added a double and scored a run. Madisun Pritchard turned in a strong outing in the circle, allowing just two earned runs over 6.1 innings.

Game 2 saw the Lady Royals respond with early momentum. After falling behind 2-0, the Royals plated three runs in the third inning behind key hits from Megan Armstrong and Aundrea Huddleston, followed by an RBI from Adelaide Hubbard to take a 3-2 lead. Johnson extended its advantage to 4-2 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Kadie Presley, but Columbia answered in the sixth with three runs to reclaim the lead.

Despite putting runners on base late, the Royals were unable to complete the comeback, falling 5-4.

Aly Dickerson scored twice in Game 2, while Huddleston went a perfect 2-for-2 with an RBI. Armstrong also contributed with a double and a run driven in.

The Lady Royals will look to bounce back as they continue their road trip with their next game at Spartanburg Methodist.