The numbers in the stands were more important than the numbers on the scoreboard Saturday at Hastings Stadium
A solid crowd of roughly 450 welcomed the Guelph Royals back to the Royal City on on a sun-drenched afternoon at Hastings Stadium.
The Royals, back in the Intercounty Baseball League after folding early last season, dropped their home opener 9-0 to the London Majors. But new owner Shawn Fuller said the big news Saturday was the great turnout.
"For me, it affirms that Guelph still cares about baseball," said Fuller. "I think there's more people here today than there was all of last season. It's amazing.
"Guelph baseball fans want to come out and see a team win and we're going to build a contender this year," Fuller said.
"Today wasn't indicative of how competitive we're going to be. A lot of these guys haven't seen live pitching in eight months, so it will come."
The Royals brought in five import players from the Dominican Republic. All but one played Saturday.
There was a party atmosphere at Hastings Stadium.
The weather was perfect, mayor Cam Guthrie threw out the first pitch, there were kids games, a beer tent and visits from children's characters Paws Patrol.
"We're not done recruiting players. We're still building and we will be competitive on the field," Fuller said.
"I spoke to a guy who runs a minor league baseball team and he said to me 'I'll give you my playbook on how to run a minor league baseball operation, but you have to promise me one thing: that the product on the field is competitive. Because if it's a joke, then nothing else matters,'" Fuller said.
The Royals are now 0-2 on the young season.
The Royals' five new import players from the Dominican Republic were dressed Saturday.
One of them, Yomar Conception, took the loss on the mound despite pitching well early. Conception went four and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs. He struck out seven.
Josh Garton and Darren Saunders each had two hits to lead the Royals.
Guelph plays in Brantford on Sunday. Next home game is Tuesday night when the Hamilton Cardinals visit Hastings Stadium in a 7:30 p.m. start.
