Royals win two of three at Victoria tournament

Jun. 21—VICTORIA — Matteo Finocchi tossed a four-hitter as the Rochester Royals nipped St. Louis Park 2-1 on Sunday in amateur baseball to wrap up play in the Mike Poppitz Memorial Tournament.

The Royals finished the tourney with a 2-1 record. They played two games on Saturday. The Royals opened with a 7-5 victory over the Macstrength Grizzlies before falling 10-2 to the host Victoria Vics.

Finocchi struck out three and walked two in the seven-inning game.

The Royals scored single runs in the second and third innings to build a 2-0 lead. Sam Warren and Drew Block collected an RBI each for the Royals while Michael Michalak and Jared Campbell were both 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Drew Lingen went 2-for-3 for Rochester while Matthew Hayford was 1-for-2 and Nick Pearson was 1-for-3.

In the tournament opener on Saturday, the Royals rallied to beat the Grizzlies as they forced extra innings by scoring two in the top of the seventh to even the game at 5 and then added to more in the eighth for the win.

Alex Holets and Michalak were both 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Logan Milene was 2-for-4 with one RBI. Holets hit a two-run homer while Milene collected a double. Hayford went 1-for-3 and scored two runs.

T Palmer Mickelson pitched the first seven innings earned the win for the Royals. He allowed seven hits and struck out 11 and just two of the five runs he allowed were earned. Erik Thorvilson collected the save by pitching a scoreless eighth inning and he struck out two.

The Royals' 10-2 loss to Victoria halted the team's five-game winning streak. The Royals were held to three hits. Block went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, Pearson was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Milene went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Lingen allowed six earned runs on nine hits over the first five innings to suffer the loss.

Matt Dolan went 2-for-4 with a triple and grand slam and six RBIs for the Vics.

The Royals (9-7) will play at the Lake City Serpents at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.