Royals return to action

The Mountain Home Royals return to action Friday when they host the Centennial Cannons in an American Legion league doubleheader at home.

It will be exactly two weeks since the Royals last played as they crushed Middleton, 12-4, during an away game June 22. However, Royals manager and head coach Alex Hoffman isn't complaining about the time off.

"We had a brutal schedule in June and really hadn't had time to practice much in between games," Hoffman said. "We've given the boys a little time off and then are focusing on the fundamentals and improving the little things we need to do to get better."

The time off also gave Mountain Home's pitchers some time to rest their arms. It's also given Royals pitching coach Troy Wilkins time to work on the mechanics.

"We hope to come back strong in July and take district, make State and do well there," the coach said. "Who knows, maybe (we'll) go on to regional."

The Royals are 20-4 on the season and sit at 10-1 in league play in the eastern division of Area B in their class.

The Royals host the Centennial Cannons for two games starting at 4 p.m. Friday. They travel to Kuna for a double header that starts at 11 a.m. Saturday.