The Royal Oak Leprechauns had another great offensive day, cruising past Kenosha (8-7) by a score of 10-4 on Tuesday.
“It was a phenomenal job across the board,” Leprechauns head coach Jonathan Vance said.
The first three hitters in the Royal Oak (7-8) lineup all had three-RBI days. Oliver Service, batting second, went 4-for-5 with two doubles.
Service’s first hit as a Leprechaun came Monday on a two-RBI single, which started a 10-0 run in the final two innings against Kokomo.
“The confidence kind of came rushing through after the first hit,” the Texas Longhorn said. “I had been hitting the ball hard, but it just wasn’t falling.”
Service entered the game just 1-for-14 at the plate.
“That one hit is all I needed,” Service said.
MSU’s Ryan McKay also had a two-hit day in the leadoff spot, scoring twice on top of the three RBIs.
Alabama’s Parker Picot had a three-hit day of his own while hitting third.
Brock Olmstead was the only hitter not in the top third of the order to get an RBI. He received his in a single during a five-run third inning.
While Akron product Evan Bottone did not record an RBI, he did score four times after reaching base on all four of his plate appearances.
Another key part to the victory was a good outing from the bullpen. The Royal Oak pitching staff entered the game with the fourth-worst collective ERA in the league.
Starting pitcher Gabe Jones struggled, surrendering three earned runs in 2.2 innings.
After that, relievers TJ McAlister Jr. and Jake Jekielek combined to allow just one more run in the final 6.1 innings of the game.
“I knew [improvement] was going to happen, but it’s always nice to see,” Vance said. He cited the fact that many pitchers on the Leprechaun roster did not get a lot of innings in college this spring, so it would take some time for the staff to get acclimated.
Jones did not pitch at Ball State this year. Neither McAlister or Jekielek threw more than 30 innings at their respective programs.
Overall, it is one of the most complete games the Leprechauns have played. Royal Oak has had trouble at times with stringing quality offensive and defensive performances, especially against a quality opponent like Kenosha. The Leprechauns had opened its time in the NWL against the Kingfish, losing two games at home.
The Leprechauns will look to replicate their previous two performances again on Wednesday.
Royal Oak’s top-ranked offense will face off against Kenosha again at home at 6:35 p.m. Following that, the team will hit the road again for two-game sets against the Lakeshore Chinooks and the Green Bay Rockers.
