Royals on a roll as district tourney approaches

The Mountain Home Royals closed out their regular season American Legion baseball schedule with home wins over the Boise Gems and the Boise Senators last week.

Royals 14

Boise Gems 4

(5 innings)

Mountain Home scored 10 runs in the third inning to break open a close game with the Boise Gems last Thursday night in Mountain Home.

The Gems got to Royals pitcher Michael DesPres for two runs in the top of the first, but DesPres cracked a two-run double in the bottom of the inning to give the Royals a 3-2 lead, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

The Royals made the most of five hits, four walks, three errors and two hit batters to score their 10 runs in the third inning. Alex Hoffman had the big blow, a three-run triple, as Mountain Home increased their lead to 14-3.

"It was nice to see guys break the sticks out a little bit earlier in the game than we have before," said Royals head coach Mark Cotton after the game. "All the way through the lineup, guys hit the ball well. That guy (Andrew Shoemaker, the Gems' starter) shut us down when we were at Capital that one day (at the Pepsi Challenge), and we came out and we hit it well.

"Mike DesPres threw a great game. I can't say enough about Mike, he's been solid for us all year. The guys get up when he's on the mound, he's a leader out there, and it's good to see him get a win in his last start at home."

Alex Hoffman, Jake Hiler and Zane Bundy all had two hits, Hoffman drove in four runs, Bundy, one. Michael DesPres had a double and three RBIs. Mike Anderson had an RBI-single, and Aaron Swartz and Chris Rau both had RBIs, Swartz had four walks and scored two runs.

Michael DesPres improved to 4-2 on the season, striking out 10 in five innings, limiting the Gems to just three hits.

Royals 8

Senators 1

The Royals closed out their regular season schedule with an 8-1 win over a much improved Boise Senator team last Saturday at Mountain Home.

The Royals scored two runs in the first, two in the third, a single run in the fourth, and three in the sixth for their eight runs, and pounded out 12 hits.

Chris Rau improved to 7-0, throwing six scoreless innings, striking out six and giving up just two hits. The Senators got to Royals reliever Jordan Cisna for a run on three hits in the seventh.

"We had another great performance by Chris Rau," said Coach Cotton after the game. "He did a great job on the mound for us. Offensively, everybody in the lineup hit the ball really well, and it was a great one to go out on for the seniors."

Bret Young had three hits, including his fifth home run of the season, two RBIs, and scored three runs. Michael DesPres had two hits including a double and an RBI. Joe Poseley and Jordan Cisna both had RBI-singles, Alex Hoffman and Jake Hiler both had doubles, and Jeff Vogl, Tim Whitmarsh and Jesse Burton also had hits. Chris Rau knocked in two runs and Aaron Swartz had one RBI.

The Royals finished Eastern division play, 14-0 and 27-4 overall. Coach Cotton hopes his team can continue to play well in the Area B Class A District Tournament, which opens this Thursday at Borah and Fort Boise.

"We finished with a good record in conference, but we haven't seen many teams from the West, so we're not taking anyone lightly, but I have a lot of confidence in these guys, that if they play the way they have all year -- they're fighters, they've battled all year -- I feel pretty confident going into the tournament and hopefully, we can pull out some 'w's' and get a trip to state in Coeur d'Alene."