Monarchs Blanked in Series Finale

Oconomowoc, WI — It was an uncharacteristic night offensively as the Monarchs were shutout for just the second time this season with a 6-0 loss to the Dockhounds on Thursday night.

Former Pirates prospect, Emmanuel Chapman, made his debut for the Monarchs and held off the Dockhounds before they found the breakthrough in the third inning. Ripken Reyes was hit by a pitch and Dom Johnson singled to put two in scoring position. This gave the way for Joshua Mears to rip a hard grounder into right field to score both runs.

Chapman had a good day on the bump and despite giving up two runs, he shoved in four punch outs on his debut. Nate Webb took his place in the fourth inning and also totaled four K’s. Left hander, Jack Walker, was the second Monarch to make his debut and he threw a strikeout in the seventh inning. Kansas City has added depth to their bullpen and it will surely be helpful down the stretch.

In the fifth inning, Johnson cranked a solo homer and then in the sixth stanza, Reyes was hit by a pitch when the bases were loaded and Lake Country had a 4-0 lead.

The Dockhounds would a tally in seventh and eighth inning to make it four-straight frames with a run. In the seventh, Mario Feliciano smacked an RBI single to score Ray Zuberer and then Mears drilled a liner into left field in the eighth to tally his second RBI of the night.

Kansas City really struggled to find the offense as Edwin Diaz and Sahid Valenzuela were the only Monarchs to register a knock tonight. They also had five runners left on base and couldn’t provide the timely hitting. This was an uncommon game from this team and with a Winnipeg win, the Monarchs fall out of first place for the first time since June 4th. Perhaps that can kickstart this group back to winning ways as they stay in the state of Wisconsin and jump into a series with the East Division leaders, Milwaukee Milkmen. This is a crucial series before they return home with a 6:35 start tomorrow night at Franklin Field.