Yordano (Ace) Ventura, 25, passed away early Sunday morning in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. Dominican Police confirmed Ventura’s death, which occurred in the town of Juan Adrian.

Ventura began playing for the Royals in September of 2013 and immediately gained recognition for his fastball, reaching over 100 mph, earning him the nickname “Ace”. He continued to play for KC’s AL pennant winning team in 2014 as well as when the Royals won the World Series the following year in 2015.

Andrew Cameron, senior, expressed his reaction to the news, “When I saw my heart sank and I was thinking it had to be some sort of mistake, he couldn’t be gone. A boy with much potential and energy is gone.”

Ventura is survived by his wife, Mari Pili Sangiovanni, and three children, along with his mother.

“A child is going to have nothing but pictures and videos of their father. This might be the death that pushes it over the edge, this might be the one to change things, to make these guys realize they aren’t invincible,” Cameron said. “This is going to push the Royals back to square one, now they have to find another arm to fill out the rotation for years to come.”

One of Ventura’s leading moments in Royal’s baseball was in 2014 during the sixth game of the World Series when he paid tribute to a fellow Dominican St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras who had passed in a car accident.

Ventura is the second major league player who has died over the past five months.

Meredith Loehr, sophomore, also revealed her feelings toward the account, “If I know anything about the Royals, it that they love and support one another like family. No doubt this is a loss to the organization and baseball, but I believe this will only make them stronger.”

Fellow teammate and first basemen Eric Hosmer reached out to his Twitter audience addressing the loss: “I love you my brother. I’m in disbelief and don’t know what to say. I love you ACE.”