LAKELAND, Fla. - The Fire faced a daunting task in Royals pitcher Chelsie Valentine, the Sun Conferences leader in strikeouts. A few miscues in the field by the Fire allowed the Royals to apply the pressure. In a must score situation for the Fire in the bottom half of the fifth inning, the offense could not push ar run across thus crowning the Royals 8-0 victors.
The first two innings of play were quiet for both teams. Stef Guercio and Valentine seemed to baffle hitters as the duo did not surrender a hit.
In the top half of the third the Royals amassed three runs on two hits and three Southeastern errors. Torey Scott reached first base on an error to lead off the inning. Back-to-back bunts advanced Scott to third where she was singled home by Jessica Adams. Two more runs came into score with some extra help from the Fire defense to give the Royals a 3-0 lead.
Ultimately, the damaged could not be stopped as the floodgates opened up in the top of the fifth. The five run inning was capped off by the two RBI single into right field by Jessica Adams to give the Royals a 8-0.
The Royals' Valentine and Paige Davis combined for a no hitter against the Fire. Valentine, the native of Haines City, Florida dealt four innings while striking out six. Davis came into to close the game throwing one inning while striking out two in the process. The tandem only faced two hitters over the minimum.
Southeastern aims to rebound tomorrow as they square off against the Royals in a twin bill. Games will commence at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
