By: Noah Chavez

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – In two of the highest scoring games at Memorial Park this season, the Royal Oak Leprechauns and Traverse City Pit Spitters each grabbed one win in the series to start off the week. On Monday, it was a 19-7 Leprechauns victory before the Pit Spitters recovered with a 13-5 win on Tuesday.

During the opener, Royal Oak had no trouble offensively, especially early in the game. Scoring seven runs in both the first and fourth innings, the Leprechauns grabbed the early advantage and never looked back. 

Although the team combined for 21 hits, Cash Van Ameyde and Oliver Service both stood out and tallied three hits each, with Van Ameyde launching his second home run of the season and Service collecting a pair of doubles. Elsewhere in the order, both Mason Barth and Andrew DiLodovico had three hits, with each player also driving in at least one run.

On the pitching side, Hayden Bailey led the way with his second consecutive exceptional start at The Lucky Corner, tossing five innings with eight strikeouts and only giving up one earned run. 

Unfortunately for Royal Oak in game two, the Traverse City offense was eager to provide an early spark, scoring all 13 of their runs within the first four innings as they cruised to victory.

While the Leprechauns’ bats did not see as much success, Luke Kosko continued his excellent campaign, recording two hits in his three at-bats. Fellow lefty Michael Zielinski also did well at the plate, driving a double into the left field during the seventh inning that was Royal Oak’s only extra-base hit of the day. 

As the first half of the season winds down, the Leprechauns will take on the Battle Creek Battle Jacks for the first time since opening week, playing on the road Wednesday before returning to The Lucky Corner on Thursday night. First pitch from 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.