By: Noah Chavez
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – As the Royal Oak Leprechauns finished up their opening home stand, another stellar offensive performance helped the team grab an 8-2 win over the Traverse City Pit Spitters and improve to 4-2 on the season.
On the mound, Leprechauns starter Drew Tolfree delivered another solid start, giving the home side 5.2 innings of length while allowing just one run on three hits while striking out seven hitters. In his two starts this season, Tolfree has thrown nine innings and has not allowed an earned run with a 10:2 strike out to walk ratio. To close out the game, reliever Andrew Everson also pitched well, recording a save while tossing a scoreless final three frames.
Meanwhile on offense, Royal Oak kept on scoring in bunches, tying the game 1-1 with a run in the third inning, and then taking the lead after bringing in two runs in the fourth. Designated hitter Luke Kosko continued his good stretch at the dish, driving in both fourth-inning runs with a long home run beyond the right field fence at Memorial Park.
In the fifth, center fielder Lucas Mead doubled in another run to add to the Leprechauns’ tally, and a few batters later Carson Raether’s sacrifice fly would make it a 5-1 Royal Oak lead.
After a Pit Spitters run in the sixth came across to make it a 5-2 game, Mead once again delivered with men on base, driving home another two runners on his second double in as many innings. A RBI-single by Nolan Alvord in the seventh would cap off the scoring on the night.
With eight more runs on Saturday, that brings the Leprechauns up to an impressive 35 runs scored in their past four games amidst this winning streak.
With the Leprechauns finishing their week of games at Memorial Park, they will travel to Traverse City for two games against the Pit Spitters. The Leps will then face Rockford on the road for another two. After the road trip, the team returns to Royal Oak for another homestand next week. First pitch for next Thursday’s game at Memorial Park is set for 6:35 p.m. ET.
Tickets can be purchased on the team’s website or at the gate. Fans can also follow the team across all social platforms to stay up to date.
