Royals Eliminated from AAC Tournament with 6–4 Loss to Montreat

KINGSPORT, TN— The Royals saw their AAC Tournament run come to an end Friday afternoon, falling 6–4 to Montreat in an elimination game.

Johnson struck first in the second inning, taking advantage of a sacrifice fly from Austin Menesini to bring home Braden Frank for a 1–0 lead.

Montreat responded in the third inning with a three-run frame, capitalizing on traffic on the bases and timely hitting to jump ahead 3–1. The Royals answered right back in the bottom half of the inning as Mitchell Birdsall delivered a two-run single to score Travis Hobbensiefken and JJ Menesini, tying the game at 3–3.

The Cavaliers regained control in the fifth inning, pushing across two runs to take a 5–3 lead, and added another insurance run in the seventh to extend the margin to 6–3.

Johnson continued to battle late, as Braden Frank launched a solo home run in the ninth inning to cut the deficit to 6–4, but the Royals were unable to complete the comeback.

On the mound, Tyler Barfield took the loss, allowing six runs over six innings of work, while Bodey Yates provided three scoreless innings in relief to keep Johnson within striking distance.

Offensively, the Royals were limited to five hits, with Birdsall driving in two runs and Frank adding an RBI on his late home run.

With the loss, Johnson concludes its AAC Tournament run and now turns its attention to the NAIA Selection Show, which will take place Wednesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. ET, as the Royals await their postseason fate.