Family vacations sometimes disrupt the baseball season.

Most vacations are planned well ahead of time and summer activities are not taken into account. The Ice League Royals know this all too well, as three of their players weren’t present for their match-up June 25 against the Whitesox, because of vacations.

To make up for the missing players, Royals’ head coach, Mike Mattan, said he “borrowed” players from the younger leagues, only after they received permission from their coaches.

Despite the missing players and the younger players stepping up with the older boys, the Royals beat the Whitesox, 9-2, at Ice Field.

“This was the best they’ve played all year,” Royals head coach Mike Mattan said.

In the bottom of the first, the Sox took a one-run lead with Boone Heston scoring on a wild pitch.

Sox assistant coach Paul Houle said although pitcher Nick Cesare started off slowly, he pitched well.

“He threw a great game,” Houle said of Cesare.

Also Houle said that the Royals found the gaps in the outfield and that’s why they racked up the runs throughout the game.

“We hit it right at them, right at them. They found a way to the gaps,” Houle said.

The second inning was much the same way, one Sox was walked, two struck out and the other was out at first base. Again, the Royals scored one run in the bottom of the second, to lead 2-0.

Neither team scored in the third. All of the Sox players were thrown out at first base and the Royals batters either struck out or popped out.

Though the Royals made it out of the fourth without allowing the Sox any runs, it wasn’t because of great defense.

“When they were warming up, they seemed dead, there was no energy, nothing,” Mattan said of his team.

Sometimes it showed as the Royals had some miscues.

As Sox batter Cody Bonham hit the ball, it bounced off the glove of a Royal, Shawn Jimboy. Jimboy recovered and made the throw to first in time. The next Sox batter, Jake Lorenzo, had much of the same luck. He hit the ball to centerfield and it bounced off the glove of Royals player, Jarrod Bates. Bates also recovered in time to get Lorenzo out at first.

The Royals were up 4-0 after four.

In the top of the fifth, the Sox were close to scoring, but a player was left on third. The Royals added four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Boone and Jimboy both hit a triple and scored. Derrell Coulter also scored and Jeff Seiger hit a home run to give the Royals an 8-0 lead.