Team KC/MO Royals strong in 14 Elite action at TX Season Opener

by Joseph Fragano

The Team KC/MO Royals secured their second win of the day Saturday with a victory over Performance Baseball by a score of 10-3 at the Oak Grove Baseball Complex, during 14u D1 Elite Division action at the Triple Crown Texas Season Opener.

Peyton Newell got the win for the Royals with two innings of scoreless work and a strikeout. The KC/MO offense got out in front early on a grand slam from first baseman Luke Presco and never looked back.

“I was just seeing the ball well,” said Presco “Just timing it up right, swinging at anything that looked good to me.”

Presco's second home run of the day put the Royals in front for good. The Performance offense threatened with a rally in the top of the third, bringing around their only three runs of the game. Harrison Bailey came on in relief, getting out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout to seal the game for the Royals.

"I was just looking to throw fastballs and get a ground ball," Bailey said.

Team KC/MO head coach Brett Bailey considered it a win to be on the field at all due to the weather in the team’s hometown of Kansas City and commended his players for a gritty performance in adverse weather conditions.

"Obviously we'd like to throw strikes more consistently than what we did today," said coach Bailey. "Kids that have the mental aptitude fight through it and figure out a way to get it done. I liked my team's aggression today to come out and put runs on the board early in both of our wins."

The Royals join the Dallas Tigers-Burgos and Dallas Patriots-Sherard as the only teams to go 2-0 Saturday in the 14u Elite division.

In 12u Elite division action the Texas Raiders Elite-Lale (Southlake, TX) and Yeti Baseball Club (Austin) won all three of their pool play games and will be the top seeds in Sunday's bracket.