Royals Open NAIA Opening Round with 20–10 Win Over Our Lady of the Lake

SALINA, Kan. — The Royals opened the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round with a 20–10 win over No. 4 seed Our Lady of the Lake University on Monday afternoon at Dean Evans Stadium.
The victory moves Johnson into the winner's bracket, where the Royals will face No. 2 seed and tournament host Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. CST.

Johnson struck first in the opening inning when Travis Hobbensiefken singled up the middle to score JJ Menesini, giving the Royals an early 1–0 lead. Our Lady of the Lake answered with a solo home run in the second, but Johnson quickly responded in the bottom half as Luke Wilson drove in Christian Altamirano with an RBI single to put the Royals back in front.

The Royals broke the game open in the fourth inning, plating five runs to take a 6–1 lead. Wilson delivered a two-run double to score Edwin Olmeda Jr. and Joseph Brown before Hobbensiefken added another RBI single. Izaak Fernandez followed with an RBI base hit of his own, giving Johnson early control of the contest. Our Lady of the Lake battled back in the fifth, scoring four runs to cut the Johnson lead to 6–5, then tied the game in the sixth. The Royals, however, answered immediately. Hobbensiefken scored on a wild pitch before Christian Altamirano singled through the left side to bring home Mitchell Birdsall, putting Johnson back ahead 8–6.

The Saints evened the game again in the seventh, but Johnson delivered its biggest response of the afternoon in the bottom half of the inning. Birdsall launched a three-run home run to right center, scoring Menesini and Wilson to put the Royals back in front 11–8. Brown followed with an RBI double, Altamirano added another RBI single, and Menesini later drove in two more with a ground-rule double as Johnson pushed the lead to 15–8.

After Our Lady of the Lake added two runs in the eighth, the Royals closed the door with another big offensive inning. Braden Frank, Altamirano, and Grayson Shehan each drove in runs as Johnson stretched the lead to 20–10 and secured the run-rule victory.

Johnson finished with 20 hits, led by Altamirano's four-hit, three-RBI performance. Wilson added three hits and three RBIs, while Hobbensiefken drove in two runs and reached base multiple times. Birdsall delivered the biggest swing of the game with his three-run homer, and Shehan added two RBIs late. On the mound, Kaleb Townsend earned the win, while Bodey Yates and Logan Fiene helped finish the game in relief.

Following the win, head coach Dave Serrano credited his team's ability to respond through adversity. "It's just another opportunity being with a team that I truly have a lot of compassion for and love," Serrano said. "It's just a step for this tournament, the opening round. It puts us in a winner's bracket against a very good Kansas Wesleyan team. It's one win, and I'm proud of them."

Serrano said the scoreboard did not fully show how difficult the game became during the middle innings. "We had to fight through some adversity," Serrano said. "We jumped out early, and then they crept back, and then we responded. The scoreboard doesn't dictate how tough of a game that was through the middle innings. I'm just proud of this team."

Serrano also noted the balance of the regional field and the importance of taking things one day at a time. "We know this is a very, very balanced regional group of four teams, so we know we have our hands full," Serrano said. "We just got day one under the belt, and I'm very happy for our guys that they came through."

With the win, Johnson advances in the winner's bracket and will take on Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. CST.