Kansas City, KS — The Monarchs put up six runs in the opening frame to grab an 8-4 win and another series victory at Legends Field.

The bats were flowing early from Kansas City when Marcus Smith led off with a double followed by walks from Grant Richardson and Saul Garza. Smith got the first run started on a balk from Explorers pitcher, Reed Butz. Alvaro Gonzalez returned to the lineup and did not disappoint. On the first pitch he saw, the Venezuelan smoked a three-run bomb to left field for his second homer this season, both at Legends Field. The line kept moving when Sahid Valenzuela and Brady Lindsly both registered singles while Josh Bissonette walked. Just like that, it was the bottom of the order and Hudson Head connected on a pitch into right field to bring in two runners. The Monarchs ballooned into a six-run advantage and never looked back.

Lindsly had a terrific day at the plate, totaling two hits. He mentions, “(It) was left on left. Really trying to keep my front side in there which I haven’t been doing a good job of lately. To be honest I got lucky that a couple fell, I didn’t hit them all that well, but I will take it.”

Dakota Hudson looked like his major league self once again. He threw in six innings, giving up no runs, and threw eight K’s. It was business as usual from the Tennessee native.

Sioux City had been shutout for 15 straight innings before making their mark in the seventh frame.Jackson Van De Brake and Elliot Good walked and then just two batters later, that allowed Austin Davis to groundout into an RBI. Henry George continued the rotation on a single into right field while Good scored. Shortly after that, Braulio Vasquez recorded his second knock of the afternoon on an RBI single to the opposite field. The Explorers put up three tallies to cut the deficit to 6-3.

This cut it to a two-run game in the top of the eighth when Zac Vooletich scored via error from the catcher Lindsly. The Monarchs were losing the momentum and needed to take it back. After Grant Richardson walked, Garza stepped and did what he knew best. He cracked a ball into left center field to send in Richardson. Garza finished an outstanding day going 4-5 at the dish with an RBI. He says, “I felt really good at the plate today. (The) offense did a great job putting up a six spot in the first inning. Obviously we feel really comfortable with Dakota (Hudson) on the mound, coming out on short rest and doing what he did. (Again), we feel really comfortable with him on the bump and the offense did a great job.”

Garza scored the final Monarchs run from a wild pitch to seal off a wild series at Legends Field. There were two rain delays, a bench-clearing altercation, but the Monarchs prevailed once again to earn their ninth win this season.

They will have an off day tomorrow and then get ready to welcome in the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. Its a 6:35 scheduled first pitch at Legends Field on Tuesday night.

Kansas City, KS — It was a night where the Monarchs could not get over the hump and fell to the Sioux City Explorers, 4-3, on Friday night.

Sioux City got in front in the first inning and never surrendered the lead. Leadoff hitter, Austin Davis singled and followed it up with two stolen bases to put himself at third. It was Braulio Vasquez who shot a sacrifice fly to center field and brought in Davis to score.

The Monarchs responded with a solo homer from Austin Callahan where he muscled one over the opposite field fence in the second frame. It was the Nebraska native’s first home run of the season to put the game at one apiece.

Dakota Chalmers earned the nod on the mound. The former A’s prospect went five innings while giving up three runs, but he located the zone and found himself with five K’s.

The story of the night was home runs and thats exactly what Sioux City did in the top of the fifth. After Zane Denton walked, this brought in Elliot Good who belted a two-run bomb over the left field wall to take a 3-1 lead. The Explorers kept the momentum rolling in the sixth inning after Alberto Osuna walked and Jackson Van De Brake recorded a base hit. This allowed Denton to rip a hard ground ball into left field while Osuna scored to add on another tally.

It was Monarchs outfielder, Trevor Boone, who hammered his third home run this season when he cracked one into left field in the bottom half of the sixth. The Monarchs plated a run in the seventh inning after Hudson Head and Marcus Smith walked. This brought up Sahid Valenzuela who sent a ball into center field and Head raced home from second to cut it to a one-run game.

Unfortunately that was the last time either team scored as the Monarchs finished the night six hits and eight runners stranded on base.

The Monarchs will look to even up the series when these two teams go right back at it for the second game tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:35 at Legends Field.

Lincoln, NE– The Monarchs showed no signs of slowing down on Tuesday night with their second-consecutive shutout win, taking a 8-0 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs.

This game was very similar to last night as there were four-straight scoreless innings to open it up. The Monarchs broke the deadlock in the 5th inning when Josh Bissonette and Sahid Valenzuela walked while Marcus Smith was hit by a pitch. They had a golden opportunity to take the lead and would not squander it. After a ground ball to first from Grant Richardson, Bissonette scored via error from the first baseman. This brought up Saul Garza, who had just homered last night. It was the McAllen, TX native’s turn t0 make his presence felt once again. Only this time, Garza launched a grand slam to left field to clear the bases and build a 5-0 lead. This was the second grand slam of the season by a Monarchs player (Trevor Boone). Garza is currently tied for second in the league with four home runs.

Only an inning later in the sixth frame. Brady Lindsly arrived to the party when he belted his first homer of the season on a solo shot to right field. Just it was last night, Smith was red hot at the plate with a liner into left field to bring in Bissonette to jump the score to 7-0. The former Ranger’s talent posted another three-hit night and led the team in knocks for yet another game.

Dakota Hudson made his third start on the mound and nearly went the distance. The former Colorado Rockie went eight innings, allowing six hits, no runs, and two punch outs. Hudson showed his durability as it was the longest a pitcher has thrown in a game out of the Monarchs bullpen all season.

Boone inserted another run in the seventh inning on an RBI double to left field to bring in Austin Callahan to finish up the scoring for the night. Kansas City has outscored Lincoln 19-0 in this series and are winners of six of their past eight contests. They are starting to find their footing and have the opportunity to earn the team’s first series sweep of the season.

The Monarchs will play the final game of the set at 6:35 at Haymarket park on Wednesday night.

Lincoln, NE — The Monarchs opened up the series in Lincoln and it was an 11-0 thrashing over the Lincoln Saltdogs on Memorial Day behind a six-run ninth inning.

It was a game where it went five scoreless innings thanks to the help of the starting pitcher, Dylan Heid, who went three innings while giving up two hits and two strikeouts.

The scoring opened up in the sixth inning due to the former LSU tiger, Saul Garza. Once again Garza read the perfect pitch and cranked a solo homer to left field. It was the third time this season that Garza was responsible for the first run of the game, which were all home runs, respectively.

After this homer, the flood gates opened. Austin Callahan, who returned to his home state, was able to single right after while Trevor Boone collected a hit, and Marcus Smith reached base via fielders choice. Catcher Ryan Leitch earned his first RBI of the season when he belted a ball in center field to bring home two more runners. Kansas City jumped into a 3-0 advantage and would not slow down from there.

Kansas City continued to produce on the defensive side. They threw five pitchers out of the bullpen and the most impressive was third-year Monarch, Jeff Hakanson. He pitched in the sixth and seventh inning throwing five punch outs with only one hit given up. The Monarchs pitchers totaled 10 strikeouts and once again, it was another solid outing from this extremely talented bullpen.

Smith made his presence felt the entire game at the plate, but especially in the eighth inning. After Boone led off with a double, he smashed a two-run bomb to left field for his second homer of the season. The local product finished his day going 3-5 at the plate and tacked on four RBI’s.

It was in the ninth inning where this team showed their depth and versatility. Sahid Valenzuela grabbed his first hit of the night  while Grant Richardson walked. The Monarchs remained extremely disciplined at the plate and nothing came easy for the Saltdogs bullpen. Two batters later, Smith continued to rake in RBI’s when he roped a liner into left field to bring in two runners. The inning kept on rolling for the Monarchs as Josh Bissonette reached first via error and Callahan scored. This lineup was on a tear and Hudson Head added the 12th and final hit of the night by smoking a triple into right field to score two more runs.

It was the best performance from the Monarchs all year on both sides of the ball. They amassed the most amount of hits all season (12) while throwing their first shutout. After back-to-back series wins, this team has shown no signs of slowing down and will look to continue that in the second game of the series tomorrow. First pitch is at 6:35 at Haymarket Park.

Kansas City, KS —  It was a storybook ending on Saturday night as Josh Bissonette walked it off with a base hit up the middle in the bottom of the tenth to claim a 6-5 win, and the third Monarchs victory in a row.

The Dockhounds jumped in front in the second inning on a solo homer to left field from Mario Feliciano. That continued into the fourth inning when Ray Zuberer III singled to bring up Ripken Reyes. He then cracked an RBI double into right field and Zuberer came flying home from first. Lake Country kept the bats rolling on a sac fly to allow Reyes to score.

They would not stop there as Peter Zimmerman cranked a solo shot to left field in the fifth inning and Kansas City found themselves down 4-0.

Lake Country went 15 up and 15 down on the Monarchs before the inning that changed the game. At the start of the sixth, Brady Lindsly, Bissonette, and Hudson Head all walked to bring the bases loaded with nobody out. It was the moment Boone was waiting for. He read the fastball to perfection and belted a grand slam into left center field to even the game up at four apiece. Boone says, “It was amazing, just to get it done for everyone in the dugout honestly.”

Nate Webb was one of the standouts out of the bullpen tonight for Kansas City. He threw two innings with two strikeouts and let up no hits. Webb talks about being in his home city, “It’s really fun for me, Ive had like 15 people at every game we have had at home. It’s awesome, I have a little nineteenth month old that probably won’t remember any of this, but I think it’s really important for me at least that he gets to come out and see a lot of these games. Being in front of friends and family all the time, it’s great.”

The game went into extras for the first time this season. Lake Country plated a run in the 10th on a fielder’s choice RBI to bring home Drey Dirksen from second.

The Monarchs made the magic happen in the bottom of the inning when Austin Callahan brought home pinch runner, Grant Richardson. Two batters later, the bases were loaded with only one out. Bissonette was the hero as he sent a ground ball up the middle to bring home Sahid Valenzuela. It was a fantastic finish on a gorgeous night at Legends Field.