Royals Blast Pirates in Series Opener

BRISTOL, VA - The Burlington Royals (7-21) strong offense and stellar pitching carried the day as they defeated the Bristol Pirates (12-15) by a score of 11-0 on Wednesday in the first matchup of a three-game series.
On the mound, Josh Dye was the star, pitching four scoreless innings in his first career start. He was followed by Bryar Johnson who pitched four scoreless of his own. Ismael Maldonado pitched the ninth to complete the B-Royals second shutout of the season.
The Royals got on the board early, when Jeison Guzman scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. Burlington added another run in the third, when Eric Cole hit his first professional home run to make it 2-0.
The B-Royals had a big fourth inning, scoring three times. The first came when Freddy Fermin scored on a Jose Marquez single. Then Bhret Bewley came across on a fielder's choice from Montae Bradshaw, who later scored on a Rhett Aplin single.
Burlington added a run in the fifth inning on another RBI from Bradshaw to make it 6-0. In the sixth, Juan Carlos Negret hit his fourth home run of the season to extend the lead to eight. Negret added another RBI in the seventh to make it 9-0.
Marquez added to the onslaught in the eighth inning, belting a two-run home run to make it 11-0.
The win was Burlington's largest of the season and its third in the last four games. The second game of the series will be Thursday night in Bristol.
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 - Josh Dye (1-2)
LP - Shane Baz (2-2)
Highlights:
Josh Dye - 4 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Bryar Johnson - 4 IP, 0 R, 5 K
Rhett Aplin - 2-5, RBI, R, BB
Juan Carlos Negret - HR, 3 RBI
Jose Marquez - 3-4, HR, 2 RBI
Montae Bradshaw - 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R
Eric Cole - HR