Royal Knights Run Past Eagles In First Round of Tournament

From the very beginning, the River Ridge Royal Knights (6-7) dominated and controlled the game in their defeat of the Springstead Eagles (6-7) on Monday. The Royal Knights led by as many eight runs and led throughout as they knocked off the Red, White, and Blue by a 12-7 advantage in the first-round match of the Farm Bureau Invitational Tournament held at Central High School. Though there were some bright spots, Springstead Head Coach George Nessmith met up with the Sun after the game to discuss how the game tipped in River Ridge’s favor.

“We both had a lot of hits,” Coach Nessmith said. “They had a better pitcher than us. They had like [14] hits, we only had 11. So, when the other team hits more than you, you normally lose. So, that is what happened […] We played good defense. We hit the ball, we just got to score more hits than the other team.”

The afternoon immediately began on the wrong foot for the Eagles. After Junior Pitcher Joey Rief walked the second batter, Junior Cameron Kessell stepped up to the plate and crushed a home run past the right centerfield fence line. This ran Senior Anthony Gualemi home for the early 2-0 lead. Springstead would then face a dangerous bases loaded situation with one out later in the inning but were able to escape without further damage being done. Three out of the next four of the Eagles’s players were then retired in the bottom of the frame to bring River Ridge’s offense back onto the diamond.

Another two-run inning ensued. With Gualemi back up to bat, Junior Jacob Yeager stole second base before being run home by the junior’s single. Next up to the plate was Kessell, who returned for an encore. This at-bat was not as grand as his last, but a double deep to the back left corner of the outfield ran Gualemi across the plate once again for the 4-0 advantage. The team in red went back out on offense in the bottom of the frame but were sent back to the dugout as quickly as before thanks to a pop fly and a double play.

The Eagles were forced to go to their bullpen early as Senior Pitcher Jacob Rief took the mound to start the third period. The senior would see more success than his predecessor over the next couple of innings before things went south. One run was surrendered when the short stop could not corral a Yeager single, and Junior Tommy DeLoreto managed to snag home plate. The Eagles’ bats would finally wake up after this.

First up in the bottom of the third, Senior Dimitri Sabino smacked a double down the third base line. He would steal third on a wild pitch during Freshman Nathaniel Sabino’s at-bat before logging a score on the freshman’s hit. The younger Sabino ended up being thrown out at first, but Springstead was on the board.

“Dimitri, our third baseman, had two nice doubles down the line,” said Coach Nessmith. “So, as long as he keeps hitting. We will be okay.”

The Eagles continued to claw their way back into the game in the next inning. A double by Junior Dalton Williams ran Senior Alex King home before a Senior Michael Dressendorfer single did the same for Williams. Suddenly, Coach Nessmith’s squad was only down 5-3 with one out and runners on first and third. Facing the potential of a blown lead, the Royal Knights also made a change. Senior Dawson Linares was brought out onto the bump to navigate the tenuous situation, and he did with aplomb. The next two batters hit pop flies that were caught out and disaster was averted for the out-of-county team.

Just when the Eagles were back in position to make it a game, things went sideways in a hurry. The fifth frame would ice the contest as Coach Liam McHugh’s Royal Knights scored six runs to blow the game wide open. A pair of throws could not be corralled at first base before back-to-back doubles by Sophomore Jack French and Gualemi ran a trio of scores across the plate. Three more runs were logged soon after between back-to-back singles this time by Sophomore Hagen Conner and DeLoreto. Another pitching change to Junior Tayrn Hendrickson helped Springstead get out of this jam, but the game was already too out of hand as this point. Springstead would nab four more scores between the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings, but it would not be nearly enough to come back on Monday.

The Eagles are going to continue to need strong performances from Sabino and others to get back in the win column against their next opponent, South Sumter. Springstead will be facing the Raiders at 4:00 PM on Tuesday while the Royal Knights will square off against the Central Bears at 7:00.