Leonard delivers third walk-off in four days
Burlington entered the ninth down 5-4, but rallied to load the bases. With two outs, Patrick Leonard blooped a single just over the head of second baseman Jorge Vega-Rosado. Chris Elder and Humberto Arteaga came home and the Royals came away with another comeback victory.
The Royals and Blue Jays went back-and-forth all game. Santiago Nessy opened the scoring for the Jays with a two-run homer in the first. It was the second time Nessy homered in the last two games. But, the lead was short-lived, as Burlington struck for three runs in the third. Kenny Diekroeger gave the Royals their first lead on an RBI single.
Christian Lopes single-handedly brought Bluefield back. He homered on the first pitch of the fourth, then delivered an RBI single in the fifth. The single gave the Jays another lead, but Leonard singled home Terrance Gore in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game back up. Bluefield made it 5-4 on a seventh-inning double by Art Charles.
Aside from being tonight's hero, Leonard was the Royals' top performer at the plate. The third baseman went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Diekroeger also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Mark Peterson picked up his second win of the year with a one-inning relief appearance. He held the Blue Jays at bay in the ninth, picking off Vega-Rosado at first and leaving Dwight Smith, Jr. stranded at third.
The Royals and Blue Jays meet again on Monday for the final game of the series. Patrick Conroy is set to go against Bluefield's Daniel Norris in a lefty-lefty matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 7 pm.