Kingson Royals Showcasing Talents, Building Experience

Story by Chris Reilly

Photos by Colin A.J. Murphy

The players on the Kingson Royals 15U “Showcase” baseball team have been able to gain valuable experience in their young high school careers by playing in the Mickey Mantle summer league, which has featured a busy schedule including competitive tournament play against older teams. Kingson has found itself on the winning side on a majority of those games, going 14-4 in the league and 20-9-1 overall.

During a critical stretch earlier in the season, the Royals played nine games in nine days in the Pastime Tournament held at The University of Maryland, making it all the way to the quarterfinals. Starting pitcher Logan Crum had a no-hit bid through six innings before giving up the walk-off single in the seventh.

The Royals pitched well during the entire 16U elite tournament, which is a major part of the game that Coach Gary Bierc has effectively set up as the foundation of the young team’s success.

“We instituted a new bullpen regimen last year,” said Bierc. “When the boys came out of the game, they had to pitch in a serious bullpen session with us.

“We carried that mentality of working through the bullpen into this season and have really seen an improvement in our overall pitching, including an increase in velocity,” added Bierc.

After the long and grinding tournament, the Royals had no time to rest, quickly traveling to Chesapeake High School for a league game against the Lake Shore Gray Sox on July 3rd.

Down 8-0 early, the Royals tacked on two runs in the top of the fourth inning, but had dug themselves too deep of a hole, losing 9-3. The Royals outhit the Gray Sox, 7-6, but couldn’t make up for all of the unforced errors.

Reliever Drew Domshick showcased Kingson’s impressive bullpen by coming in to pitch the last two innings of the game, allowing zero runs and striking out five.

Sophomore Dylan Lenart had two singles in the game and an RBI in the sixth inning. Kai Jackson, another sophomore from Severna Park, ripped two singles into left field and scored in the fourth inning. The loss resulted in a split season series against Lake Shore, with Kingson winning earlier (2-1) in June.

Although Kingson did not score as many runs as it has been used to throughout the summer, their offensive principles were still in place, especially later in the game.

“From the offensive side of the equation, we really try to focus on key fundamentals that would carry them into the college years,” said Bierc. “That means a much shorter swing and being able to catch up to the faster fastballs.

“What we’re seeing is these guys are now getting themselves in position to be true varsity players in high school.”

Beginning this fall, Bierc hopes to start having his team playing in even more competitive 16U showcase tournaments to have them prepared to be seen by scouts.

The Royals are currently participating in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association all-wooden bat World Series held at Charleston Southern University that will wrap up on July 21st. Kingson looks to use its experience in tournament play to have another successful outing.

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