Primarily batting leadoff for the Fort Smith Marshals, Royce Florenzano wanted to help give the team a much-needed offensive boost. He did just that in the Marshals’ doubleheader sweep against Abilene on July 27.
In the first game, Florenzano hit a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth, giving his team some insurance in a 6-3 win. Then in the second game, Florenzano went 2-for-3 and scored two runs as the Marshals got the sweep with a 9-8 win.
The sweep salvaged what had been a tough homestand for the Marshals. They had lost their first six games – and were shut out in five of those contests – before getting the doubleheader sweep. Through the tough stretch, Florenzano remained optimistic that the Marshals were going to break out of their offensive funk.
“It’s really just going to show up every day,” Florenzano said. “I try to make the most of it. You know, some of these guys I probably won’t see again, so it’s good to have these relationships and come out here and just have fun with my boys.”
Florenzano’s at-bat in the opening game of the doubleheader gave Fort Smith some breathing room with a 6-2 lead with his two-run double to deep center.
“(Abilene’s pitcher) was throwing a lot of fastballs, so I was really just trying to be on time and try and hit something early to score those guys,” said Florenzano, who was batting .321 after the Marshals’ doubleheader sweep. “And I ended up hitting one at the center and getting a double on it and scoring a couple of runs.”
Even the night before, although the Marshals fell 9-7 to Abilene, Florenzano turned in a solid performance. In six plate appearances, he reached base on each occasion, getting a triple, drawing four walks and was hit by a pitch while scoring three times.
“I mean, we’ve had some downs recently, and we just decided to just come together, keep our heads up and just try and play our best day by day, and just do what we can and come out on the field,” Florenzano said. “I mean, really do what we can and just fight adversity.”
Florenzano, a native of McAlester, Okla., joined the Marshals in late June. He had played this past spring at Carl Albert State College in Poteau – where current Marshals’ manager Buddy Mercado serves as an assistant coach – after playing the year before at Seminole (Okla.) State College.
Florenzano played his high school ball at Crowder, a small school located several miles north of McAlester where he played both fall and spring baseball, since the Demons did not field a football team.
“I thought it was good (playing both fall and spring baseball), and I liked it because I had never touched a football field,” he said. “Fall baseball, I liked playing two seasons just because it gave me more of a chance to like, have more at-bats and improve more.”
Florenzano can play several positions in the outfield and infield, and has even pitched at times for the Marshals. With Carl Albert, he mainly played first base and batted in the leadoff spot. After the Marshals’ season ends, Florenzano will return to Oklahoma as he will play at Southwestern Christian University in the Oklahoma City suburb of Bethany.
“They want me as a first baseman, possibly an outfielder, and really just somewhere to hit in the three to five spot, just to be a guy that shows up every day,” he said.
Florenzano is an only child but really started taking up baseball from his mother.
“She’s just a big sports person,” Florenzano said. “She had a brother that played in college, and her dad played in college as well. … As long as I can remember, since I was like, three or four, I’ve always known the game and played the game.”
If there’s something Florenzano enjoyed from his time with the Marshals, it’s the bus rides he has taken with his teammates.
“We keep it to ourselves, but usually we’ll get into some deep stuff, just real personal conversations, and really get to know each other,” he said.
And en route to a series in Sherman, Texas, the team went through McAlester on the way there.
“That was (sentimental); it is a nice little refresh back home,” Florenzano said.