ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (2-2) were defeated at home by the Zillah Leopards in a doubleheader matchup by a final score of 4-3 and 6-3.  

“We felt like a young team trying to find our way here a little bit,” Head Coach Tony Jenks said.   

The Knights scored first in game one, but Zillah managed to outscore them 4-2 the rest of the game to secure their first win of the day. In game two, the Leopards carried their momentum forward as they jumped out to 3-0 lead in the first three innings. The Knights defense did its best to hold off Zillah, but a three-run sixth inning put Royal in a deeper hole. The Knights tried to mount a comeback but were unsuccessful as Zillah won the second game.  

“Our energy was down. We just came out a little flat starting out, and we need a little bit more focus and (this) gives us plenty to work on this week in practice,” Jenks said. 

In game one, the Knights drew first blood after Ernie Weeks got home in the bottom of the second inning. The Leopards responded at the top of the third with a run to tie the game. From there, the game remained scoreless through the fourth.  

In the top of the fifth, Zillah erupted for three runs to take a 4-1 lead over Royal. The Knights bounced back in the bottom of the fifth after Tyce Christensen got home to make it 4-2. After they held Zillah scoreless in the top of the seventh, RHS had a chance to complete the comeback.  

Weeks was able to get home once again, but Royal was thrown out before anyone else could score, giving the win to Zillah. Brit Wardenaar, Bryan Larsen and Christensen accounted for RBIs. Karson Thompson and Bronson Scroggins split the pitching duties, striking out a combined four batters. 

It was quick turnaround for game two as the Leopards carried momentum from game one into their second of the day. They took the lead 3-0 after three innings while limiting any production by the Knights’ offense.  

Royal looked to be turning the game around after holding Zillah scoreless in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Larsen got Royal on the board with a score heading into the sixth. Despite building some momentum, Zillah took it back behind a three-run inning, increasing its lead to 6-1. 

However, the Knights continued to chip away at the deficit after two runs by Scroggins and Larsen cut the score to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth. The Royal defense held the Leopards to no runs in the top of the seventh, giving them one last chance to pull off a comeback or at least tie the game. However, their campaign was ultimately unsuccessful as Zillah swept the Knights in their doubleheader matchup.  

“Those (second and sixth) innings is what hurts you, and then you're throwing extra pitches, which hurts your pitchers (which) just gets into your pitch count, so you can't keep them in all game,” Jenks said.  

Scroggins, Christensen and Mason Meseberg recorded an RBI for the Knights. Pitching duties were split between Weeks, Larsen, Meseberg and Israel Ramirez. Between them, they struck out six batters.  

The Knights will return to the diamond on Tuesday when they host DeSales in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. In the time they’ve had between games, Jenks is confident his players will turn it around and correct some of their mistakes.  

“We're going to work on off speed, hitting the ball, putting the ball in play, and hitting it hard; we got to make more contact at the plate and get better contact,” he said. “We'll have some wins. We’ve got good pitchers. (We’ve) got young kids, but we're going to get it figured out.”  

BOX SCORE: 

Game one 

ZLLH: 0-0-1-0-3-0-0: 4 

ROYL: 0-1-0-0-1-1-0: 3 

Game two  

ZLLH: 1-0-2-0-0-3-0: 6 

ROYL: 0-0-0-0-1-2-0: 3 

    Ernie Weeks (15) throws his next pitch against a Zillah batter during their game Saturday.
  

    The Knights’ Bryan Larsen keeps his eye on a fly ball during their game against Zillah Saturday.
  

    The Royal Knights Head Coach Tony Jenks heads back to the dugout between innings against Zillah Saturday.