Royals sweep doubleheader from Middleton

The Mountain Home Royals saw a five-game losing skid come to a close Thursday when they swept an American Legion baseball doubleheader at home against Middleton.

Kuna Diamondbacks 8

Mountain Home 7

The Royals battled back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 5-5 in the fifth, and scored twice in the top of the sixth to take a 7-5 lead, but Kuna managed to score three in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead, 8-7 when the two teams played at Kuna on July 12.

Mountain Home had three hits in the top of the seventh, but failed to score, as they went down to their fourth straight defeat, 8-7.

Despite the loss, Mountain Home Royals head coach Travis DeVore liked the way his team battled back.

"That's definitely what our team has been about this whole year. It was just one of those games where the team that made the last clean half inning was going to win the game. Kuna's a scrappy team and we're a scrappy team, and it was just one of those ball games."

Joe Poseley and Jake Hiler both had two hits and two RBIs for the Royals against Kuna. Dillon Barresi also had two hits. Tim Whitmarsh had an RBI single, and Brian Fields, Daniel Rau and David Zito also had hits.

Daniel Rau pitched five innings, giving up six runs on 10 hits. Tim Whitmarsh relieved Rau in the sixth, and suffered the loss, giving up two runs in the inning.

Emmett Blue Devils 15

Mountain Home 13

Mountain Home scored seven runs in the last two innings, but it wasn't enough last Wednesday night as they came up short, 15-13to Emmett at Mountain Home.

The Blue Devils hit Brian Fields hard in the first inning, scoring six runs on eight hits to take a 6-0 lead. Fields settled down the next three innings, and the Royals battled back within two, at 7-5, after four.

Emmett exploded for seven runs in the fifth against Fields and reliever Jake Hiler. Joe Poseley came on to finally shut down the Blue Devils, who increased their lead to 14-5.

The Royals scored three in the sixth to come within six, 15-9, and scored four more in the seventh, but fell short, 15-13.

Despite the loss, the Royals' fifth straight, Coach DeVore saw plenty of positives to work from the game.

"I'm pretty proud of these guys actually. The effort they put forth was pretty impressive considering we dug ourselves that hole, but I never saw the guys attitude-wise get down on themselves, or at each other, or anything like that. It was just one of those crazy games that could have gone either way, and ultimately, I was just proud of our kids to put runs up in those last innings and give themselves a chance to come back. Believe it or not, and I rarely say this, winning or losing isn't everything, it's just how you feel when the game ends, and I'll go home tonight feeling good about our kids having a lot of heart, a lot of battle in them, and as I told the kids, I was proud of the efforts they put forth."

David Zito and Joe Poseley both had three hits in the game, Zito a triple and three RBIs, Poseley knocked in one run. Sam Cisners had two triples and three RBIs, Jake Hiler, Dillon Barresi and Brian Fields each had two hits, Barresi, two RBIs, Hiler, one. Chris Rau had a hit and an RBI, and Tim Whitmarsh had an RBI.

Mountain Home 4, 13

Middleton 3, 3

Last Thursday night saw the Royals put an end to their recent losing skid, taking two games from Middleton at Mountain Home.

In the first game, the Royals scored their four runs in the first four innings, then held off Middleton, who got single runs off Royals pitcher David Zito in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Zito struck out nine and gave up just three hits, with only one of the three Middleton runs earned.

Tim Whitmarsh and Jake Hiler both had two hits, Hiler an RBI. Brian Fields had a hit and an RBI, and Sam Cisners, Dillon Barresi and Daniel Rau also had hits.

In the second game, Middleton jumped on Royals pitcher Chris Rau for three runs in the top of the first. Mountain Home scored four in the bottom of the inning, and Rau held them scoreless the rest of the way. The Royals added two more in the third, four in the fourth, two in the fifth, and ended it by the 10-run rule with another run in the sixth, 13-3.

Chris Rau helped his cause at the plate, getting four hits and three RBIs. Sam Cisners and Dillon Barresi both had three hits and an RBI, Cisners a double and an inside-the-park home run.

Brian Fields and Joe Poseley both had two hits and two RBIs, Jake Hiler had two doubles and an RBI. David Zito also had two hits, and Tim Whitmarsh also had a hit.

"It was nice to finally break out of our slump," said Coach DeVore of the sweep. "The kids played really well both games, the defense was really tight, and the pitcher was great -- both David Zito and Chris Rau pitched really well for us. It was a great night."

The Royals took a 23-10 overall record and 14-9 conference mark into a busy final week of the regular season. The Royals hosted the Boise Barons last (Tuesday) night, travel to Capital tomorrow (Thursday) for a 4:30 p.m. game with the Boise Capitals, go to Eagle Friday for a 7 p.m. game with the Vipers, host Nampa for two on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m., and close out their regular season schedule Sunday with a 3 p.m. game at home against the Boise Gems.

The Class A Area B District Tournament starts July 27.