ROME, Ga – A go-ahead, two-run home run and 18th of the season for Eric Hartman gave the Emperors a fleeting lead in the fourth inning, but ultimately Hudson Valley tied the series at two games apiece thanks to a two-run blast of their own in the fifth.
Zach Royse, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher taken in the seventh round of the 2025 Draft, made his High-A debut for the Emperors on Saturday night and, three pitches into his opening act, a 1-0 fastball issued to Core Jackson was deposited into the visitor’s bullpen. Royse weaved through traffic in each of his five innings of work, giving up eight hits and walking a pair Renegades in what resulted in a losing effort for the former GreenJacket; Kyle West’s two-run home run in the fifth inning being the deciding swing in a game that produced no runs over the final 4.5 innings.
David Rodriguez (2.0IP, 2H, 3SO), Jarret Whorff (IP, SO), and Mathieu Curtis (IP, H) held the line out of the bullpen for Rome, something this group has done exceptionally well since Wednesday. Aside from Tuesday’s outlier game for Hudson Valley, Rome’s bullpen has not ceded a run in the sixth inning or later of any game this series, riding a 13+ inning scoreless streak in the series finale.
Hartman’s blast In the fourth came on the heels of John Gil’s single to right field which gave the Emperors their first hit of the game, some ten batters into the contest. The swing also brought Hartman alongside Freddie Freeman and Beau Phillip in the all-time home run category; all three with 18 in an Emperors uniform.
Outside of that sequence, Rome’s offense lacked timeliness, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranding seven runners on base. Mason Guerra went down as the only Emperor to put together a multi-hit effort on Saturday. The final in Game 4: Renegades, 3, Emperors, 2.
Hudson Valley and Rome resume their series tomorrow, at 1:00pm ET on Father’s Day.