The Royals 16U entered the double elimination NSA Battle of the Bats tournament taking place on June 4 - June 5, 2022. They started Saturday off strong, coming out of pool play and into bracket play as the #1 seed. They finished the day 2-0-1 -- Tied their first pool game 6-6; won their second pool game 4-2; and won their first bracket game 9-3. 

On Sunday, they couldn't get the bats working as they lost two consecutive games and out of contention for the championship. 

They finished 2-2-1 in the Summer opener weekend. They look to bounce back as they move up to play in an 18U division the next 3 tournaments before returning to the 16U division in mid-July. 

SATURDAY RECAP: 

Game 1: The opposing team was down two runs in the top of the 5th inning. Their two runs scored on errors in that inning, sending the game into a tie. Amber Rios, Gabrielle Cowan, Lillian Skelly, Dakota Hoekstra, and Marigrace Hoese all had one hit to lead the Royals. 

Game 2: Dakota Hoekstra's walk-off is a the picture perfect ending in the Royals victory.  The game was tied at two with the Royals batting in the bottom of the 5th inning when an error scored two runs for the Royals! Nadia Foushi was the winning pitcher, allowing only two hits and zero runs over 4 innings, and striking out four. Dakota Hoekstra tallied a solo inside the park homerun in the 4th inning. Alexandria Cowan, Hoekstra, Julz Panozzo, and Lillian Skelly each collected one hit to lead the Royals. The defense was sure-handed not committing a single error. 1B Savannah Roberts made the most plays with six. 

Game 3: Despite allowing three runs in the 4th inning, the Royals won 9-3. The Royals secured the victory thanks to five runs in the 1st inning. Savannah Roberts, Lillian Skelly, Alexandria Cowan, and Gabrielle Cowan power the big inning with RBIs. Things got started when Roberts singled on a 0-1 count, scoring one run. Marigrace Hoese took the win as she she surrendered three runs on four hits over 5 innings, striking out six and walking zero. The Royals tallied 10 hits in the game. Roberts and G. Cowan each had multiple hits. 

SUNDAY RECAP

Game 4: Royals fell behind early and couldn't make a come back in an 8-1 loss. Nadia Foushi led things off on the rubber. Foushi surrendered four runs on two hits over 1/3 of an inning, walking zero. Marigrace Hoese threw 4 and 2/3 innings in relief. Savannah Roberts went 2-for-2 at the plate to lead the Royals. 

Game 5: Royals fell behind early in a 12-0 loss. The Royals committed 8 errors in this game, surrendering 8 runs in the 1st inning, one run in the 2nd, and three runs in the 3rd. They only had one hit coming from Dakota Hoekstra.