LINCOLN, Calif. - After a nearly four hour game and 36 runs against Hope International Wednesday night in the opening game of the series, the Warriors and Royals returned to McBean Park Thursday for a doubleheader that tallied 43 total runs over the two games. The Royals took the first conference series of the season from the Warriors with an 18-10 win in game one and an extra-inning edge 8-7 in game two.

The Warriors hit the board first in game one on the first pitch as Kawai Takemura sent a long ball over the leftfield wall. With bases loaded Noah Shackles would hit a 2-RBI single to make it 3-0 and Joe Starick would close the inning with a 3-run homer for the 6-0 advantage.

The Royals would match those runs in the fourth inning with a home run and a single to tie it up 6-6 at the midway point. However, Jessup didn't take long to regain the lead as Will Law hit his first home run of the day for the one-run lead.

The following frame would bring the first and final lead for the Royals with five hits and an error by the Warriors to push another five runs across, now up 11-7. Hope would push it to 18-7 in the seventh inning before Jessup would try for a late comeback.

Outfielder Joey Torres would bring one run in on a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh, and back-to-back home runs for Law, his second, and Alex Nasukiewicz would make it 18-10 but a scoreless ninth inning would make it final.

Game two would resemble follow the leader as every inning both teams would one-up each other either matching or taking the lead all the way until the final extra inning. Jessup would light up the scoreboard in the opening frame again this time from perfect hitter (4-for-4), Cal Koga brought in Austen Swift who walked for the 1-0 lead. The Royals matched the run in the top of the following inning to tie it up.

It would be Koga again in the third with the RBI single bringing in Swift to take the 2-1 short lead before Hope's two runs in the top of the fourth, now up 3-2. Again, the Warriors would answer the call and tie it up in the following frame as Swift reached on an error with two on and Takemura came in to score (3-3).

None other than Koga would be the driving force for another lead on the day with a home run to start the bottom of the fifth, followed by Nasukiewicz bringing in Shackles to take the 5-3 lead. Hope would match that and then some with a home run to start their rally to a 7-5 advantage.

Again, the Warriors would tie it up in the bottom of the inning as, you guessed it, Koga brought in Swift and Law with a single up the middle for his 5th RBI of the game. A quick one-two-three in both innings of the seventh would push it to extra innings with the Warriors and Royals locked at 7.

A double and a single would be enough for the Royals in the top of the eighth to push the winning run across as Jessup was unable to answer back in the bottom half, losing 8-7.

"Kudos to Hope and their players," head coach Jake McKinley commented, "They did a great job all weekend and outplayed us. I'm very confident in our players and their ability to bounce back next week."

The Warriors will look to bounce back next week as they hit the road to take on Westmont College on Friday and Saturday.

William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).