Royals Surge Past Reds 8-4 Behind Big 8th Inning

Burlington, N.C. - After a back-and-forth game through the first seven innings, the Royals surged ahead with a massive eighth inning to take down the Reds 8-4 on Sunday night.
The Royals started the offense in the first inning. With one out and Jack Gethings on second base, Michael Massey hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat since August 8th and gave Burlington a 2-0 lead.
Later, in the top of the third, AJ Bumpass launched a two-run double off the left field wall that evened the score at 2. That wouldn't last long, though, as Jake Means brought in Jack Gethings on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame to make it 3-2 Burlington.
Despite the early offense, both teams saw solid outings from their pitchers. The two teams combined for 25 strikeouts throughout the game. Both Jose Salvador and Drew Parrish even tossed immaculate innings.
In the top of the sixth, Greeneville's Tyler Callihan launched a two-run jack to right-center that put the Reds ahead 4-3.
After Massey tied the game with an RBI single in the seventh, David Hollie stepped up to the plate in the eighth with the bases loaded and no one out. On the first pitch he saw from Jose Zorrilla, Hollie one hopped the hard shot of the right-center field wall and wound up with a bases-clearing triple that gave the Royals a 7-4 lead. Kevon Jackson followed with a sacrifice fly to seal the deal.
Alex Smith (1-3) earns his first professional win after tossing scoreless eighth and ninth innings. Manuel Cachutt (0-2) took the loss after putting the go ahead run on base.
Burlington and Greeneville square off again on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Single-game tickets are on sale now. Call 336-222-0223 or visit www.burlingtonroyals.com for more information.