Cardinals Even Series with Royals

BURLINGTON, NC - A Zach Jackson two-run double in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the difference in the Johnson City Cardinals (10-14) 7-6 win over the Burlington Royals (5-21) on Sunday night. With the win, Johnson City evened the series and set up a rubber match on Monday.
Burlington scored the first runs in the game, when Chris Hudgins blasted a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Royals the 2-0 advantage.
The B-Royals held that 2-0 lead until the fourth inning, when Johnson City scored four runs to take the lead. The Cardinals added another run in the fifth to extend the lead to 5-2.
Burlington got a run back in their half of the fifth inning, on a Rhett Aplin RBI single that scored Jose Marquez. Then in the sixth, Colby Schultz and Montae Bradshaw came up with back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at five.
The game remained tied until Jackson's two-run double in the eighth that put Johnson City back ahead. The Royals did score a run in the eighth on Bradshaw's second RBI of the day, but could not score in the ninth and fell 7-6.
The third and final game of the series is at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
The Burlington Royals are the Appalachian League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Single-game tickets are on sale now. Call 336-222-0223 or visit www.burlingtonroyals.com for more information.
WP - Juan Alvarez (2-0)
LP - Austin Lambright (0-1)
SV - Mike Brettell (1)