The Royals standing with a record of 6-6 after coming of a tough road loss to Avon looked to bounce back on Saturday, April 20th vs the Lapel Bulldogs in an important non-conference game. The Royals started off slow, giving up 2 runs in the top of the second inning. The innings that followed were almost scoreless from both sides of the ball until Colin Goley scored after Luke Sivak grounded out in the 3rd inning. Approaching the 5th inning the score was 2-1 with Avon in the lead. The Royals knew they needed to get something going. 

Maddox Bach, a key part to this team, was 1 for 3 from the plate and led the team with two runs batted in. Along with Bach, Goley had most of the chances at the plate. As the number seven hitter he led the whole team with two hits in just three at bats. Goley also stole two out of the four bases stolen by the Royals giving them a good amount of momentum.  

 In the bottom of the fifth, the senior, Colin Goley, singled and the next at bat Luke Sivak is walked after 4 balls by the pitcher. Dylan Cope, a sophomore, comes in as a pinch runner for 3rd baseman Luke Sivak. With Goley on third and Cope on second, Alex Billman, a senior, hit a sacrifice fly ball to left field. Goley scored a run, Cope advanced to third, and Sawyer Kiehl advances to second. Maddox Bach then came in and doubled to left field bringing in Cope and Kiehl. This series made the score 5-2 with the Royals taking the commanding lead in an entertaining inning. 

 Jake Payne really earned this win for the Hamilton Southeastern Royals. As a reliever Payne came in and gave up only two hits and only one run through three innings. Payne struck out four and walked none. Nate McGrath also had a good showing on the mound as he began the game for the Royals. McGrath gave up three hits and only two runs over four innings of play. McGrath struck out eight at the plate and walked two. 

 Approaching the top of the 6th inning Lapel scored off of a wild pitch. There wasn’t much action for the Royals in the bottom of the 6th except for a singled line drive from Nolan Colbert. As the game winded down and the Bulldogs were up to hit, they needed to get at least two runs to tie the game up. The Royals played a solid inning in the field and weren’t going to let the Bulldogs get back in the game. After a fly out to center fielder Drew LaFleur and 2 strikeouts by Payne, the game was sealed. HSE ended up taking a 5-3 win over the Lapel Bulldogs. This win was crucial for the team’s morale and got them back over the .500 hump to advance to a record of 7-6.