SURPRISE, Ariz. — The ACL Mariners wasted little time taking control and never looked back, piling up 12 hits in an 11-4 victory over the ACL Royals on Thursday evening at Surprise Stadium Complex.

Seattle jumped out to an early three-run lead, answered immediately after Kansas City rallied to tie the game in the first, and steadily pulled away behind a balanced offensive attack and a solid effort from its pitching staff.

The Mariners struck first in the opening inning. Diego Contreras worked a leadoff walk before Nick Becker singled and swiped second. Yorger Bautista then drove both runners home with a two-run triple to center, and Kelvin Alcantara followed two batters later with an RBI single to make it 3-0.

The Royals answered in the bottom half. Darison Garcia singled, and Jhonayker Ugarte doubled before Manuel German connected on a game-tying three-run homer to left field.

Seattle reclaimed the lead for good in the third. Dalton Davis lined a two-out RBI double to score Becker and Bautista before Brayden Corn stole second and Sebastian De Andrade delivered an RBI single to right, extending the advantage to 5-3.

The Mariners added two more in the fourth. Becker walked and stole second before Bautista drew a free pass. Davis again came through with a two-run double to right, pushing the lead to 7-3.

Seattle tacked on another run in the sixth after Becker walked for the third time, stole his third base of the game, and scored on Leandro Romero’s RBI single to center.

The offense broke the game open in the seventh. Corn doubled to begin the inning before De Andrade reached on an error. Contreras followed with an RBI single, and another Royals miscue on Becker’s fielder’s choice allowed De Andrade to score. Bautista and Romero capped the four-run frame with back-to-back RBI singles to stretch the Mariners’ lead to 11-4.

Kansas City managed its final run in the sixth when Noah Barber tripled home Moises Marchán, but Ferny Barreda retired the next two hitters to keep the damage to a minimum before closing out the final two innings.

Bautista finished 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs, two runs scored, and a pair of walks. Becker reached base four times, scored four runs, stole three bases, and finished 2-for-3 with a double. Davis collected two doubles and drove in three runs, while Romero added two hits and two RBIs. Contreras, Alcantara, and De Andrade each contributed an RBI as Seattle went 9-for-24 with runners in scoring position.

Juan Cazarez (1-3) earned his first victory of the season after allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five over five innings. Barreda surrendered one run across the final two innings, striking out two to finish the game.

The Mariners improved to first place in the ACL West with the win and will look to continue their strong stretch in their next matchup vs the ACL Giants Friday afternoon in Scottsdale.