HOME RUNS HALT SALTDOGS STREAK

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (11-6) defeated the Lincoln Saltdogs (11-4) in the series opener on Memorial Day night, 14-9 at Legends Field.

Leadoff, solo home runs to left were the theme of the first frame. The Saltdogs’ Hunter Clanin started off the series with a solo blast over the left field wall to put them up 1-0. Akeem Bostick settled in on the Monarchs for the mound, retiring the next three batters to finish out the top of the first.

The Monarchs’ bats stayed hot against the Saltdogs, putting up four runs in the bottom of the first. Willie Abreu kicked off the home run-filled first frame by smashing the first pitch off his at bat over the left field fence to tie the game up 1-1. Matt Adams joined in on the home run fun, blasting a towering shot to right field to drive in two runs. Jan Hernandez, the American Association Batter of The Week, continued his dominance at the plate, driving a deep home run to left center to extend the Monarchs lead to 4-1. Abreu and Hernandez finished the night with two home runs each. Hernandez recorded back-to-back multi-home run games after hitting for the cycle just two nights ago.

The offensive firepower slowed in the second inning as each starting pitcher retired the side in one, two, three fashion. In the top of the third, Bostick retired his eighth batter in a row before giving up another solo home run to Hunter Clanin. The Monarchs answered in the home half of the third with a one out, two run blast from David Thompson that soared over the left field wall. The Monarchs led 6-2 after three.

In the fourth inning, Lincoln closed the gap on the Monarchs’ lead. The Saltdogs utilized a one out double and a broken bat single to set up Matt Goodheart for a three-run home run to bring the score to 6-5. The Monarchs were able to keep the Saltdogs at bay with another run in the bottom of the fourth. J.C. Escarra reached base to start the inning after drawing a walk. Later in the inning, Gaby Guerrero drove a deep fly ball over the Saltdogs’ center fielder, Hunter Clanin, for a two-out, RBI double to push the lead to 7-5.

The Monarchs added to their lead again in the fifth with a Jan Hernandez, one-out single that led to an RBI double from Kevin Santa. Akeem Bostick settled into a groove on the mound in the fifth and sixth inning, recording his ninth strikeout of the night to close the sixth. Bostick finished his night with six innings pitched, nine strikeouts, seven hits allowed, and five earned runs.

Jordan Martison provided relief on the mound for Kansas City to start the seventh, striking out the first two batters he faced and holding the lead, 8-5. The Monarchs resumed their home run hitting habits with Jan Hernandez’s second home run of the day, with a blast over the left-center fence. Willie Abreu kept the offense rolling with his second home run of the night, with a two-run shot to Home Run Hill in right, extending the lead to 11-5.

Brandon Koch was called upon from the bullpen to hold off a Saltdogs comeback in the top of the eighth. Rain started to fall and Lincoln was able to create some offense and drive in two runs to cut into the Monarchs’ lead, 11-7.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Monarchs poured on more insurance runs with patience at the plate and a single from Guerrero. With the bases loaded, Kevin Santa emptied the sacks with a three RBI double to give the Monarchs a 14-7 advantage. Brock Gilliam finished for Kansas City in the top of the ninth on the mound. The Saltdogs generated two runs off a home run from Ryan Long to bring the score to 14-9. Glliam brought the Memorial Day game to a close with a strikeout, ending the Saltdogs win streak at five.

The Monarchs will continue their homestand with game two of a three game series against the Lincoln Saltdogs tomorrow night (5/31) at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Akeem Bostick (2-1)

LP: Tucker Smith (1-2)

S: N/A

Boxscore

MONARCHS GET FIRST SWEEP OF SEASON

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (10-6) beat the Sioux Falls Canaries (5-11) in commanding fashion on Sunday afternoon, 14-8. On Jazz in the Park and Sunday Funday at Legends Field, the Monarchs’ red-hot offense continued their hitting parade. They collected 16 hits with four home runs in the game. During the three-game series, the Monarchs collected 11 home runs, 51 hits, and 51 runs in only 27 innings of baseball.

The Canaries wasted no time as Trey Michalczewski hit a high fly ball down the left field line. Gaby Guerrero almost made the play, but the ball fell as Osvaldo Martinez and Jabari Henry scored giving the Canaries a 2-0 lead.

The Monarchs responded right away. Willie Abreu and Gaby Guerrero both singled. David Thompson stepped up to the plate and hit a towering fly ball that dropped on the infield, scoring Abreu. Jan Hernandez continued to see the ball well as he drove a three-run blast into the visitors bullpen, giving the Monarchs a 4-2 lead.

In the top of the third inning, Kona Quiggle hit a solo home run to bring the Canaries within one. However, Matt Adams decided to get in on the action as he drove a two-run home run to right field, giving the Monarchs a 6-3 lead.

The Monarchs collected three more runs with Guerrero and Adams collecting RBIs. After four innings of baseball, the Monarchs led 9-3.

The Monarchs tacked on one more run as Pete Kozma followed up Hernandez’ double with one of his own, scoring Hernandez and giving the Monarchs a 10-3 lead entering the sixth inning.

The Canaries offense woke up as Gavin LaValley and Trey Michalczewski knocked back to back singles. After Cole Pengilly worked a walk, Shamoy Christopher hit a bases-clearing double to bring the Canaries within four runs, 10-6.

The Monarchs continued to respond, adding more insurance runs in the sixth inning as Guerrero and Thompson drove in a run each. Hernandez capped off the inning with a solo shot to left field, giving him his third home run in the past two games. The Monarchs headed into the seventh leading 13-6.

After Matt Blackham retired three Canaries in order, Willie Abreu hit a solo home run to left field to give the Monarchs a 14-6 lead heading into the eighth inning.

The Canaries brought two more runs across in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as Jameson McGrane retired Trey Michalczewski to end the game.

The Monarchs will continue their homestand with game one against the Lincoln Saltdogs tomorrow night (5/30) at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Jacob Lindgren (1-0)

LP: Neil Lang (0-1)

S: N/A

Boxscore

HERNANDEZ NAMED BATTER OF THE WEEK

/in /by

The American Association has named Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Jan Hernandez the Pointstreak Batter of the Week. Hernandez put together an outstanding week at the plate by collecting 12 hits, 11 RBI, nine runs, and three home runs. Hernandez also batted .500 (12-24) throughout the course of the week.

The highlight of the week for Hernandez came on Saturday evening (5/28) against the Sioux Falls Canaries. Hernandez made history by becoming the first player for the modern-day Kansas City Monarchs to hit for the cycle. Hernandez went 4-6 with six RBI in a 22-1 victory.

Hernandez showed a great deal of power Sunday afternoon (5/29) as he slugged his way to a multi-homer game against Sioux Falls. Hernandez finished the 2021 season with 19 home runs for Kansas City and already has four so far in 2022.

Jan Hernandez has been a huge piece of the offense so far this season for the defending American Association Champions. Hernandez and the Monarchs are currently on a three-game winning streak and stand in third place of the American Association West.

The Monarchs will open a three-game series tonight at Legends Field in Kansas City at 7:00 p.m. against the Lincoln Saltdogs. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

MONARCHS OFFENSE TAKES FLIGHT

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (9-6) blew out the Sioux Falls Canaries (5-10) in the second game of the three game weekend series Saturday night by a score of 22-1.

After Monarchs starting pitcher Matt Hall kept the Canaries in the cage for the top of the first, Willie Abreu led the Monarchs’ offense off with a bang as he sent the first pitch the Monarchs offense saw to the right field “Home Run Hill”. Three batters later, Matt Adams sent a towering shot to the clubhouse past right field to bring in Gaby Guerrero and make the score 3-0. Little did anyone know, this was only the beginning to the Monarchs’ explosive night on offense.

The Canaries fired right back in the second, as Nick Gotta sliced an RBI double down the left field line to score ​​Trey Michalczewski for what would become the Canaries’ only run of the game. Matt Hall would then strand the bases loaded and limit the damage, escaping the inning with only the one run allowed.

The Monarchs came back to pad in the third with a flurry of base hits. Adams added to his night with a double to left-center and then moved station-to-station as David Thompson followed it up with a single that got Adams to third. Jan Hernandez kept the line moving with a single to shallow right that scored Adams and moved Thompson across the infield to third base to bring the score to 4-1 Monarchs. Casey Gillaspie capped off the scoring in the big third inning with a double down the right field line that scored both Thompson and Hernandez, making the score 6-1 before giving the Canaries bats their next chance to bridge the gap.

Matt Hall stayed on top of the Sioux Falls hitters in the top of the fourth, shutting them down in order for the second straight inning. After the turn of the inning, the Monarchs continued putting up crooked numbers as they loaded the bases in the first three batters. David Thompson led off the scoring with an RBI walk, only to be followed by a bases-clearing triple from Jan Hernandez. Casey Gillaspie would cap off the scoring once again as he delivered an RBI single to right field to bring the score to 11-1 before the end of the inning.

In the top of the sixth, the Canaries put two runners on in Hall’s last inning of work, but Hall worked out of it, keeping the score 11-1 heading to the home half of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Monarchs bats continued the deliver. David Thompson crushed a no-doubt solo home run to left field for the only run in the inning, as the teams headed to the seventh with the score a lopsided 12-1 Monarchs.

The Monarchs only continued to pile on the runs in the seventh, as they loaded the bases in three batters for Gaby Guerrero, who made the Canaries pay with the Monarchs’ first grand slam of the year. David Thompson followed it up with a two-run bomb of his own for his second two-home run game in his last four. A couple base hits from Casey Gillaspie and Pete Kozma netted one more run before the end of the inning, and the Monarchs left the inning with a massive 19-1 lead.

The Canaries were held at bay again in the top of the 8th, and just when they thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Monarchs piled three more on in the bottom half, including a homer from Jan Hernandez to complete the cycle.

The top of the ninth ended just like most of the other top halves in this one, as the Canaries were retired for the final time in four batters to make the final score 22-1. The Canaries stayed locked in the cage tonight.

The Monarchs will face the Sioux Falls Canaries in the final game of the series tomorrow night (5/29) at 3:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 2:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Matt Hall (3-1)

LP: Angel Landazuri (1-3)

S: N/A

Boxscore

MONARCHS POUR ON RUNS

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (8-6) won the series opener of the three-game series against the Sioux Falls Canaries (5-9) in commanding fashion Friday night, 15-5.

Friday night’s contest started off with back-to-back blasts over the left field fence for the Canaries. Osvaldo Martinez and Kona Quiggle put the Canaries up 2-0 with their solo home runs in the first inning. The Canaries’ early momentum slowed for a moment with two groundouts to close the first frame. The Canaries added to their early lead in the top of the second inning with two one-out singles and an RBI triple from Wyatt Ulrich, pushing their lead to 4-0.

The Monarchs threatened early to respond to the Canaries offense with a deep center field warning track fly out from Gaby Guerrero in the bottom of the first. In the second inning, the Monarchs left two runners on base.

Jon Harris received the start for the Monarchs and recovered from the first two innings and held the Canaries to one run the rest of his outing. The Monarchs broke out of their scoreless start with a one-out triple from Willie Abreu in the third inning. Pete Kozma then flew out to bring Abreu home for the sacrifice fly RBI.

The Canaries extended their lead in the top of the fifth with an RBI double from Osvaldo Martinez. The Monarchs had an explosive answer in the bottom of the fifth, starting it off with two walks and a single to load the bases with no outs. Willie Abreu closed the gap bouncing into a unassisted double play at first to cut the deficit to three runs. Pete Kozma followed and came through in the clutch with a two out RBI single to cut the lead to two. Guerrero tied it all up at 5-5 with a deep, fence-clearing blast to cap off a game-changing half inning.

In the top half of the sixth, with two outs, the Monarchs called upon Jordan Martinson to provide relief on the mound and shut off any mounting Canaries’ momentum. Martinson carried the 5-5 tie into the bottom half of the sixth.

The Monarchs’ patience at the plate broke the tie in the home half of the seventh. The Monarchs manufactured two walks, a single and a hit by pitch to secure their first lead of the night, 6-5. Casey Gillaspie followed the hit by pitch at bat with a sacrifice fly RBI. A wild throw brought in an extra run, bringing the score to 8-5.

In the eighth inning the Monarchs tacked on a plethora of insurance runs, stretching their lead to a comfortable 15-5. The Monarchs capped off their dominant win with an acrobatic throw to first from J.C. Escarra.

The Monarchs will face the Sioux Falls Canaries in the second game of a three game series tomorrow night (5/28) at 6:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Jordan Martinson (2-0)

LP: Garrett Hope (0-1)

S: N/A

Boxscore

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK

KC STRUGGLES TO GET BATS GOING

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (7-6) lost the final game of the four-game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats (5-8) Thursday night, 4-3.

In the top of the first inning, Darnell Sweeney reached base after third baseman Thomas Walraven made a fielding error. Sweeney used his speed to take second base. After Gaby Guerrero walked, Sweeney snatched third base. He was able to score with ease after Leif Strom delivered a wild pitch to Jackson Smith. With Guerrero on second, David Thompson stepped up and hammered a triple to center field, scoring Guerrero and giving the Monarchs an early 2-0 lead.

It didn’t take very long for the RailCats to respond. Jackson Smith started off the second inning with a single to left field. In his first game with the RailCats, Sam Abbott came to the plate and hammered a home run to tie the game, 2-2. The RailCats were able to load the bases with two outs, but Lewis Thorpe struck out Michael Woodworth to end the inning.

The score remained tied at two apiece until the sixth inning. Smith continued his hitting spree as he laced a leadoff triple and was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Alec Olund, giving the RailCats a 3-2 lead.

The Monarchs kept fighting back. On a ball hit to second, Gaby Guerrero hustled out of the box and beat the throw to first by an inches, scoring Willie Abreu.

Matt Blackham entered the game in the bottom of the seventh. In his inning of work, he struck out the side and allowed no runs as the score remained tied, 3-3.

In the eighth inning, Daniel Lingua drove a double to right-center field to score Thomas Walraven. Entering the ninth inning, the RailCats lead 4-3.

The Monarchs still continued to fight. In the top of the ninth inning, Darrell Sweeney walked. He stole second base which gave him his fifth stolen base of the night tying an American Association record. After a Matt Adams walk, runners were at first and second with two outs. David Thompson stepped up and hit a ball with spin to shortstop, but Daniel Lingua made a great play and threw him out at first, ending the game 4-3.

The Monarchs walked eleven times, but only gathered three hits on the night. A main reason for the offensive struggles was due to RailCats starting pitcher, Leif Strom. He struck out eight hitters and allowed two earned runs in six innings of work.

The Monarchs will face the Sioux Falls Canaries in the first game of a three series Friday night (5/27) at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Jack Eisenbarger (1-0)

LP: Brandon Koch (1-1)

S: Robbie Coursel (1)

Boxscore

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK

THOMPSON & BOSTICK SHINE IN EXTRAS

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (7-5) won game three of a four series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats (4-8) at U.S. Steel Yard, 6-4 Thursday night.

A 49-minute rain delay produced a sluggish start for both clubs in the first two innings, as each team left runners on base and exchanged unearned runs after a combined four errors in the first two frames. Casey Gillaspie brought in David Thompson with an RBI single to tie the game in the top of the second to erase the early 1-0 deficit.

David Thompson had a masterful night at the plate for the Monarchs. The KC third sacker led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run over the left field fence off RailCats starter Harrison Francis to take a 2-1. The Monarchs tacked on another run to close the fourth on a sacrifice fly by J.C. Escarra, 3-1. Thompson followed with a massive shot over the left field fence in the fifth inning for his second solo home run of the night once again off Francis, pushing the Monarchs lead to 4-1.

Akeem Bostick received the start and was in control on the mound. Bostick pitched six strong innings, allowing only one earned run, four hits and dealing six strikeouts. The first through the fourth inning was Bostick’s most dominant stretch, retiring 10 consecutive RailCats at the plate.

However, the RailCats rallied back into the game with a run in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 4-2. Bostick would depart the game in the seventh and the Monarchs would turn to right-hander Brock Gilliam. With one out, the RailCats would load the bases off Gilliam. The pen was summoned again with lefty Jacob Lindgren coming into the game. Lindgren hit M.J. Rookard with a pitch to bring in one run. The RailCats then got a fielder’s choice off the bat of Michael Woodworth, who beat out a double play ball to tie the game at four.

Carlos Vega of the RailCats brought the Monarchs’ offense to a screeching halt, striking out seven batters in only three innings pitched. The Monarchs’ bullpen carried the game into extra innings, shutting down any hopes of a walk-off finish in the bottom of the ninth with two strikeouts from Brandon Koch (1-0).

The teams would go to extra innings the first of the season for both clubs. The American Association new extra inning rules would go into effect with Darnell Sweeney, the last out of the ninth, starting the top of the tenth at second base. Gabby Guerrero would move Sweeney to third on a fielder’s choice for out number one. Matt Adams fielder’s choice scored Sweeney from third as the RailCats could not make the play at the plate in time. The Monarchs added to the lead with Pete Kozma, driving in the insurance run with a single to right to take a two-run lead.

Jameson McGrane slammed the door shut on the RailCats in the bottom of the tenth with three strikeouts to notch his second save, bringing an end to a long night at U.S. Steel Yard with a final score of 6-4.

The Monarchs will face the RailCats in the final game of the four-game series tomorrow night (5/26) at 6:45 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:20 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Brandon Koch

LP: Josh Vincent

S: Jameson McGrane

Boxscore

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK

MONARCHS OFFENSE ONE BIG HIT AWAY

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (6-5) dropped game two against the Gary SouthShore RailCats (4-7) at U.S. Steel Yard, 2-1.

The RailCats wasted no time as Ray Jones drove in the first run of the game, giving the team a 1-0 lead over the Monarchs. The RailCats had the bases loaded with only one out. However, Matt Hartman was able to minimize the damage as only one more run scored, giving the RailCats a 2-0 entering the second inning.

Nick Garcia had a great start for the RailCats, striking out four and allowing no runs through five innings of work.

After a Jan Hernandez single, a sacrifice fly from Pete Kozma brought in Jan Hernandez to make it a 2-1 ballgame. The Monarchs ended the seventh inning still trailing one run.

The Monarchs had several opportunities to score on the day, but they couldn’t get the big inning started. They were able to get the lead off runner on in the second, third, fourth, fifth, and eight innings. The Monarchs also left two runners on base in the seventh.

The Monarchs will face the RailCats in game three of the four-game series tomorrow night (5/25) at 6:45 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:20 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Nick Garcia (2-0)

LP: Matt Hartman (0-1)

S: N/A

Boxscore – NA

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK

HALL NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK

/in /by

The American Association has named Kansas City Monarchs LHP Matt Hall pitcher of the week. On Thursday night at Legends Field, the Lee’s Summit native had an exceptional start against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. He surrendered three hits, collected six strikeouts, and allowed zero runs through six innings of work. Hall retired the last five batters he faced, and his strong start helped propel his team to a 6-1 victory over the RedHawks.

On May 13th, 2022, Hall had a strong outing against the Sioux City Explorers as he finished his night by allowing three hits and one run through five innings. In his start, he struck out five batters and retired the first eleven hitters before allowing a single in the fourth inning.

Hall originally joined the Monarchs last August during the final month of the season helping propel the club to the 2021 American Association Championship. Hall got the start in game two of the championship series, picking up the win and defeating the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 8-4. During the 2021 playoffs, he was a key component to the Monarchs pitching staff. Hall had a 2-0 record and accumulated eleven strikeouts in twelve innings. He had a pivotal impact on the historic championship run and helped the Monarchs claim the franchise’s third title.

Hailing from Lee’s Summit, Hall attended Lee’s Summit West High School and played collegiately at Missouri State University where he was a sixth-round draft pick in the 2015 draft by the Detroit Tigers. Hall had his contract purchased on September 11, 2018 and made his Major League debut on September 15, 2018. He was traded after the 2018 season to Boston and appeared in four games for the Red Sox.

Hall is the first Monarchs to be named Pitcher of the Week since the rebrand of the franchise and the first weekly honor for the club since IF Morgan McCullough was named the American Association Player of the Week during the final month of the season last August 1st.

The Monarchs open a four-game series at Gary, Indiana tonight against the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Game time is 6:45 p.m. and the game will air on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:20 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817)

739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK

PITCHING DOMINATES IN AWAY WIN

/in /by

The Kansas City Monarchs (6-4) won their first road game of the season against the Gary SouthShore RailCats (3-7) Monday night, 7-0. The Monarchs pitching staff was lights out as they collected eighteen strikeouts and allowed one hit through nine innings of play.

In the second inning, Jan Hernandez laced a two-out single to left field but was able to advance to second after an error made by left fielder M.J. Rookard. Casey Gillaspie stepped up to the plate and singled to right field to score Hernandez from second base to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.

Nick Belzer had a dominant performance over the RailCats. He retired eight straight hitters from the second inning on until he nicked Jackson Smith with a pitch in the bottom of the fifth. He managed to pitch around this, striking out three hitters to preserve the Monarchs 1-0 lead entering the sixth. Belzer finished his night with an impressive line of eight strikeouts, one hit, and zero runs through five innings of work.

The Monarchs had a productive sixth inning, scoring five runs with RBI’s from David Thompson, Pete Kozma, and Willie Abreu. The team finished their half with a commanding 6-0 lead over the RailCats.

The RailCats struggled offensively, collecting a mere one hit on the night. The team couldn’t get any offense going, leaving seven runners on base in nine innings.

The Monarchs loaded the bases in the seventh. They were able to tack on one more run as Pete Kozma walked, which brought in Matt Adams to give the Monarchs a 7-0 lead.

Jacob Lindgren picked up where Belzer left off. After hitting Michael Woodworth in the sixth inning, he struck out five straight hitters and allowed no runs or hits through two innings.

In the ninth inning, Jameson McGrane struck out three batters to shut the door on the RailCats.

The Monarchs will face the RailCats in game two of the four-game series tomorrow morning (5/24) at 11:00 a.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 10:35 a.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Nick Belzer (1-1)

LP: Adam Heidenfelder (1-1)

S: N/A

Boxscore

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK