Royals Open AAC Series with Dominant 10–0 Win Over Pikeville

KNOXVILLE, TN— The Royals opened the Appalachian Athletic Conference series in emphatic fashion Friday afternoon, shutting out the University of Pikeville 10–0 behind a complete performance on both sides of the ball.

Johnson set the tone immediately in the first inning with aggressive baserunning and timely hitting. JJ Menesini sparked the offense by swiping second before Luke Wilson stole home to give the Royals an early 1–0 lead. Moments later, Mitchell Birdsall drove in Menesini with a single up the middle to extend the advantage to 2–0.

The Royals continued to build momentum in the second inning when Izaak Fernandez launched a solo home run to push the lead to 3–0. In the third, Johnson added another run on a sacrifice fly from Birdsall, bringing Menesini home once again to make it 4–0.

While the offense steadily produced, Colby Reynolds was in complete control on the mound. The right-hander delivered a dominant outing, tossing a complete-game shutout while allowing just three hits and not issuing a single walk, keeping Pikeville off balance all afternoon.

Johnson broke the game open in the sixth inning with a five-run frame. Grayson Shehan got things started with a sacrifice fly to score Joseph Brown. Later in the inning, Wilson delivered the biggest swing of the day, ripping a single through the left side that turned into a three-run play, bringing home Christian Altamirano and Edwin Olmeda Jr. Hobbensiefken followed with an RBI single to cap the inning and stretch the lead to 9–0.

The Royals added one more insurance run in the seventh as Altamirano singled to center field to plate Olmeda Jr., sealing the 10–0 victory.

Johnson finished with 12 hits on the day, led by Wilson's three RBIs and two-hit performance. Menesini reached base consistently and scored three runs, while Fernandez added a home run and multiple hits. Altamirano and Shehan also contributed key RBIs as the lineup produced from top to bottom. The Royals were aggressive on the bases as well, swiping multiple bags and putting constant pressure on Pikeville defensively.

Head coach Dave Serrano praised the team's overall performance, calling it "maybe one of our more complete games," highlighting "very good offense, good defense, no walks," while noting that "Colby set the tone, and our offense did what it did… we stole some bases… it was a complete game."

At the same time, Serrano emphasized the importance of maintaining focus moving forward, warning that "the tendency is to get complacent" after a strong performance. He challenged his team to "show our maturity and show our experience and come out from pitch one and be ready to play," adding that Pikeville remains a strong opponent and that "we can't allow the success of today to hurt us tomorrow."

With the win, the Royals take a 1–0 lead in the AAC series and will look to carry that momentum into Saturday's doubleheader against the Bears.