HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Early in the game, Wynford shortstop Dylon Robinson made a couple of crucial errors. He vowed to make up for that, and he did.

After New London took a 6-0 lead midway through the second inning, Robinson had the big blow of a 10-run third inning when he blasted a three-run homer to left.

The 10-run inning was the difference in the game as the Royals downed New London, 11-6, in the first round of the Division III sectional tournament on Wednesday at Schreck Field.

With the win, the third-seeded Royals (14-12), advanced to the sectional final and will face eighth-seeded Genoa on Friday at 5 p.m. at Wynford High School. New London finished the season with a 4-17 record.

Genoa advanced to the game with a 10-0 win over 10th-seeded Crestview.

The Wildcats got a run off Wynford starter Sam Collene in the first inning and added five runs on one hit in the second. The hit was a two-run homer by Jacob Shaver.

Down 6-0, Wynford coach Tom Smith said that his Royals had to chip away.

“I just told them to keep plugging away one run at a time,” Smith said. “And then we scored 10.

“We led the league in hits, and I think they had a slower pitcher to start off with and we played atrocious defense to start off the first two innings,” he added. “Once we started hitting, everyone got back up, and then that carried on from there.”

The Royals opened the third with five straight hits, including a Spencer Miller two-run double.

Then Robinson stepped into the box with two runners on.

Up in the count 3-0, Robinson got a fastball and drove it deep over the left-field fence. The homer was his first as a high school player.

Robinson said that he didn’t think the ball would get out at first.

“No, I didn’t think it was going to get out,” Robinson said. “I thought it was going to be a pop-up to left field. The coaches were saying good hit and it was a home run.

“I was just hoping he would throw me one down the middle and he did, and I did what I wanted to do,” Robinson added.

The blow tied the game at 6-6 but Wynford was hardly done in the frame, scoring four more times.

Miller had his second double of the inning, driving in another run, while Cobey Allen singled and scored twice in the inning. The second single drove in two more.

“We talked about getting one run at a time, getting one runner on and it’s a one-run game until it’s over,” Smith said. “They came alive in the bottom of the third and just kept scoring.”

New London coach David Gentry said that his young team showed composure after Wynford’s explosion.

“They only scored one run other than that bad inning, but, in the tournament, you can’t have innings like that,” Gentry said. “I think we held our composure. In that one inning, they scored 10 runs but in the last four innings we held them to one run.

“My team is young, but I think we held our composure pretty well.”

The Wildcats used three pitchers in the game, giving up 14 hits.

Miller replaced Collene on the hill for the Royals in the second and shut the Wildcats down, scattering five hits and permitting no runs.

“We went out there and made a statement early but we kinda slowed down and they got the momentum there,” Gentry said. “But we were ready to go.”

Cainen Allen banged out four hits for the Royals and Cody Taylor, Miller, and Cobey Allen each added a pair of hits.

Box score

New London    150 000 0               6        7        1

Wynford              00(10) 010 X      11      14       4

WP: Spencer Miller (2 SO, 0 W)

LP: Logan Ginter (1 SO 1 W)

HR: (NL) Jacob Shaver (2-run, second inning); (W) Dylon Robinson (3-run, third inning).

Triples: None.

Doubles: (NL) Logan Ginter, Jacob Shaver; (W) Spencer Miller 2, Leyton Appleby.

Multiple hits: (NL) Hayden Liss, Jacob Shaver, Logan Ginter; (W) Cainen Allen 4, Leyton Appleby, Cody Taylor, Cobey Allen.

Records: New London 4-17; Wynford 14-12.

Next: Genoa at Wynford, Division III sectional final, Friday.