Royals Go 1-3 in Opening Weekend

The Lake Region State College Royals Baseball team traveled to Sioux Falls, SD for 4 games in 2 days against Augustana JV and Riverland CC.

Early Lead For Augustana JV Seals Fate For Lake Region State College Royals Varsity

LRSC Royals fell behind early and couldn't come back in an 8-4 loss to Augustana JV on Saturday. Augustana JV scored on a double in the first inning and a groundout in the second inning. In the first inning, Augustana JV got their offense started when they scored two runsoff of a double. LRSC tallied three runs in the sixth inning to cut into the Auggie lead. Hunter Swanson, Tucker Salander, and Robert Nickell each had RBIs in the big inning. Augustana JV scored three runs in the third inning. Austin McClure took the loss for LRSC Royals. The righthander allowed five hits and seven runs over four innings, striking out three. 

Ryan Veneman went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead LRSC Royals in hits.

Lake Region State College Royals Varsity Can't Catch Up to Augustana JV

LRSC Royals fell behind early and couldn't come back in a 9-5 loss to Augustana JV on Saturday. Augustana JV scored on a groundout in the first inning and an error by the Royals in the first inning. Three straight singles also go Augustana JV got on the board, driving in more runs. Augustana would score four more runs in the second inning. The Royals scored four runs in the sixth inning. The offense in the inning came from a single by Jaret Lupton, a sacrifice fly by Hunter Borstad, and a double by Jackson Soza. Brock Degooyer started the game for LRSC Royals. The righty allowed five hits and six runs over two innings, walking zero. Daniel Mercandelli and Jonathan Mendez entered the game as relief, throwing three innings and one inning respectively. Lupton, Austyn Andrachick, Soza, and Ryan Veneman each managed one hit to lead Lake Region State College Royals Varsity.

Veneman's Walk-Off Picture Perfect Ending In Lake Region State College Royals Varsity's Victory Over Riverland Community College

LRSC Royals took their game in dramatic walk-off fashion, thanks to a walk-off single at the end of the game to topple Riverland Community College. The game was tied at two with LRSC Royals batting in the bottom of the seventh when Ryan Veneman singled on a 0-1 count, scoring one run. The pitching was strong on both sides. LRSC Royals pitchers struck out nine, while Riverland Community College pitchers sat down eight. LRSC Royals evened things up at two in the bottom of the fifth inning when Veneman's sac fly scored one run for Lake Region State College Royals Varsity. Nathan Grafsgaard was credited with the victory for LRSC Royals. The righthander lasted one inning, allowing zero hits and zero runs while striking out two and walking one. Veneman started the game for LRSC Royals. The righty lasted six innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out seven and walking zero. 

Jackson Soza, Hunter Borstad, Veneman, and Robert Nickell all had one hit to lead LRSC Royals

Lake Region State College Royals Varsity Claws Back, But Falls Just Short Against Riverland Community College

Despite an 11-run deficit in the fifth inning, LRSC Royals almost came all the way back, eventually falling 16-14 to Riverland Community College on Sunday. LRSC Royals scored 11 runs in the failed comeback on a single by James Sampson-Keck in the fifth, a single by Jaret Lupton in the fifth, a walk by Hunter Swanson in the fifth, a single by Jonathan Mendez in the fifth, a grand slam by Sampson-Keck in the fifth, and a wild pitch by Lupton in the seventh.

LRSC Royals fell behind early in the loss. but would try and rally in the 5th scoring ten runs. Sampson-Keck, Lupton, Swanson, Mendez, and Sampson-Keck all drove in runs in the frame.

Carson Heroux took the loss for LRSC Royals. The lefthander surrendered six runs on two hits over one-third of an inning.

Sampson-Keck went deep in the fifth inning. LRSC Royals collected ten hits on the day. Sampson-Keck, Robert Nickell, and Mendez each collected multiple hits for LRSC Royals. Sampson-Keck led LRSC Royals with three hits in five at bats.

Head Coach Kyal Williams said this about the weekend, "First off, it just felt so good to be back out there with the team. I know the guys felt the same way. After a year off there was some rust obviously, that the guys were shaking off and we haven't had a ton of time in the field so we were slow to start. However, I was happy we got bats on balls, drove in runs and didn't make too many errors. We were right there in every game. As a team, we will continue to improve and get better. I like what I am seeing out of this team." 

The Royals are 1-3 on the season with their next games being Wednesday the 17th against Minnesota West Community & Technical College.

GO ROYALS!