Royals Fall to Tennessee Wesleyan in AAC Tournament, Set Sights on Elimination Round
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 7 | 13 | 1 |
KINGSPORT, TN– The Royals ran into a buzzsaw Thursday night, dropping a 7-3 decision to No. 2 seed Tennessee Wesleyan in the winner's bracket of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament. Despite a hard-fought effort and a solid start from Kaleb Townsend, the Royals couldn't overcome a powerful Bulldogs lineup and an electric performance from starter Blake Peyton.
Peyton baffled the Royals over 7.2 innings, striking out 16 batters and allowing just five hits. The Royals managed to scratch across runs in the fourth, eighth, and ninth innings but were held in check for most of the evening.
Johnson head coach Dave Serrano gave credit where it was due:
"Tough loss against a very good Tennessee Wesleyan team. Their starting pitcher, Blake Peyton, was very good tonight with electric stuff. Sometimes when you face a guy like that when he is on, you have to tip your hat."
Still, there were positives for the Royals, especially from the mound. Townsend pitched 6.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs but keeping the bullpen fresh for the remainder of the tournament. Seth Bougher followed with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
"From our side of things, the line score won't show it, but what Kaleb Townsend did for us in his start was huge," Serrano added. "We went deep into the game, which allowed us to not have to use lots of guys and it allows us to go into tomorrow with plenty of fresh arms still. We know what is out in front of us still and we will take it one pitch at a time as a team."
Offensively, the Royals were led by Braden Frank, Cade Liefer, and Alonzo Zuniga, who each recorded an RBI. Bryson Shown added a triple in the eighth to help jumpstart a late push, but the Royals couldn't bridge the gap.
Johnson (34-14) will now move into the elimination bracket and return to action Friday with their season on the line. With their pitching depth still intact and a resilient lineup, the Royals remain focused and ready for the challenge ahead.