Jul. 5—The Rochester Royals provided some early fireworks and then held on to beat the Hastings Hawks 11-9 at Mayo Field on the 4th of July in amateur baseball.
The Royals scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning and built a 10-3 lead after three innings. Hastings chipped away the rest of the way but fell short.
Nick Pearson sparked the Royals by going 2-for-5 with four RBIs.
Matt Cano was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored for the Royals while starting pitcher Matteo Finocchi went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
Drew Block also hit a double and drove in a run while Michael Michalak and Logan Milene both scored two runs. Sam Warren and Nolan Jurgenson added an RBI each.
Finocchi (four innings), Derrek Lilledahl (two innings) and Brevin Goetz (three innings) all gave up three earned runs on the mound for the Royals. Lilledahl earned the win by pitching the fifth and sixth innings and Goetz collected a three-inning save.
The Royals (13-8) are now 10-2 in their last 12 games.
The Royals will host the Miesville Mudhens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mayo Field in a Section 1B game.