Kettering Royals

As the Ohio Winter is finally starting to make it's presence known the Royals are getting ready to hit the cages.  It's been a long offseason and the Royals have lost a few veterans, but have a new class of guys ready to don the Powder blue and join the returners to rebound from their 2015 season that ended on a down note.  There are still spots available if you are interested in playing don't hesitate to drop an email address to ketteringroyals@yahoo.com and we can discuss things in more details.

 However the big question though now that the weather is finally getting colder is how long will it last?  Either way the Boys in Blue will be hard at work indoors until the weather breaks preparing for that Opening Day to come in early April. 

The Royals double header with the Marlins on Sunday June 28th has been moved.  The city has recently shutdown Howell Field for a few weeks to do some maintanence/updates.  As a result the Royals DH has been moved down the road to Kettering Fields.  Game times are still the same.  Please update your calendars and come out and cheer on the Boys in Blue.

On a hot Sunday afternoon the Royals faced off in their first matchup of the season with the Camden Redlegs.  In game 1 the Redlegs jumped out to an early 8-0 lead on the Royals before they were really heated up in the first inning.  After settling in Royals starter Tyler Eaton controlled the Redleg offense over the remaining 6 innings, but they were unable to find any holes to plate enough runs.  However in game 2 the tables would turn.  It was the Royals turn to score as they were able to send 16 batters to the plate in the 2nd inning scoring 11.  However as the at-bats wore on both teams were starting to feel the heat from the summer sun as the game slowed to a crawl.  The Royals were able to score 18 runs to earn Rookie Derek Barnhart his first W, but the Redlegs made it interesting off of Royals reliever Matt Piskor.  Piskor pounded the zone, but unfortunately the heart of the Redlegs order was able to make some good connection.  Shaun Delozier was called in to quiet the Redleg bats and with 2 outs in the top of the 7th after 5 pitches the game was over, 18-10.

 It was nice to get a split on the day to keep pace with the rest of the division, but the Royals need to start finding some luck on a lot of their hits.  In the loss on the day the Royals only had 3 K's and put everything else in play, but just weren't able to get a lot to fall.  Hopefully the game 2 offensive explosion carries through the MVABL Bye week as their next game is with the Mad River Machine on Tuesday June 23 at 8pm at Action Sports.  Come out to watch the Royals battle it out under the lights. 

The Kettering Royals got off to a hot start before the April Showers slowed things down this past weekend...  The Royals picked up a 13-1 opening day victory over the new Miami River Marlins to kick off the season 2 Sundays ago.  In the game strong pitching from starter Ron Roberts kept the Marlins in check.  He went 6 strong innings and recorded 11 K's.  At the plate 9 of the 11 Royals batters were able to pickup a hit, but everyone was able to reach base at one point in the game with the help from either a keen eye or uncontrolled pitch.  At the plate Eric Jameson, Kevin Nossem, and Shane Page each recorded 2 hits, and skipper Mark Franklin led the offense going 3-4.

This past Sunday in week 2 the Royals rolled into Howell Field hoping to get the game in before the skies opened up.   They were able to start the game, but as the innings wore on the rain just kept coming and coming and finally in the bottom half of the third inning the game was suspended with the Royals leading 9-2 with guys on 1st and 2nd with no one out.  Highlights from the rain suspended game include balls crushed off the centerfield fence from Chris Flaherty(2B), Tyler Eaton(1B-held up due to slow running conditions by guys in front of him), and Eric Jameson(3B).  The game should be made up as part of a Double Header on June 7th.

Up next for the Royals is a game against the always tough South Dayton Slammers.  The Slammers have had the Royals number during the regular season dominating the series 6-1 the past 3 years, but the Royals were able to pickup 2 key Wins against them when in it truly counted in the 2013 Semifinals enroute to their 4th league title.  However the Royals have added a lot of new faces to the roster this season and feel that this new group brings a new energy to the team that will be looking to make another run this season.  Unfortunately there is more rain forecasted for this weekend so the Royals hope the fields are able to hold up and they'll get to take the field.  The first pitch is scheduled for 1pm at Howell Field.  Come out and support the team and Royals Rookie Tyler Eaton as he makes his 1st start for the Boys in Blue.