Fargo, ND — The Monarchs started their nine-game road trip with a rough 16-6 loss to Fargo on Tuesday night. Kansas City gave up the most runs and hits this season despite taking an early lead.

That early lead started in the opening frame when Sahid Valenzuela doubled on a liner up the middle. This brought in the newly signed and former big leaguer, Nick Martini. He played eight years in the MLB with six different organizations and showed his experience right from the get-go. The first baseman drove a ball into left field to bring home Valenzuela for the game’s first run. Shortly after, Hudson Head arrived on the scene with a sac fly to center and Martini crossed home plate for the first time as a Monarch. It was a 2-0 advantage, but would be their only lead of the night.

Fargo grabbed a run in the bottom of the frame and then tallied five runs in the second inning with a Dillon Thomas grand slam to left field. Kansas City muscled in a run in the top of the third as Austin Callahan continued his success at the plate with a double to bring in Martini. Callahan finished 4-5 tonight with an RBI and a run which was a tremendous outing for the third baseman. It was the most hits he has had in a game all season.

Fargo kept on swinging the bats at an extremely high clip and it continued for the next three innings. They grabbed two runs in the bottom of the third while totaling four tallies each in the fourth and fifth inning. After five frames, the Monarchs found themselves down a dozen runs (16-4). Every player in the Redhawks lineup earned a hit while seven batters had two or more knocks.

Martini continued a red hot day at the dish in the eighth inning when he ripped a line drive into center field which scored Marcus Smith and Grant Richardson. Martini dazzled in his first game in a Monarchs uniform going 3-5 with a three-rbi night. The former Colorado Rockie is a huge pickup and will be a vital piece to this group going forward.

Right-handed pitcher, Wyatt Wendell made his debut for Kansas City in the seventh frame and gave up only one hit in the inning. Wendell was on the training camp roster, but officially signed on June 8th.

The Monarchs suffered their worst loss of the season and will look to shift their focus to tomorrow’s game to try to even up the set. First pitch is at 7:02 when Austin Hansen is set to toe the slab.

Kansas City, KS — An historical night for Kansas City as they set a franchise record for most hits in a game (20) to go with a 17-3 rout over Gary Southshore.

The Monarchs wasted no time to get on the board in the first inning. Saul Garza has been on fire in this series and cranked a two-run shot to open up the scoring. Just a batter later, Austin Callahan saw the first pitch and put a solo homer the opposite field while doing it on his birthday. It was a rapid 3-0 start and that was only the beginning for Kansas City.

In the third inning, KC would tack on the fourth run after Garza singled to bring in Hudson Head. He roped a ball to right field and Garza scored. Two frames later in the fifth, Head was back at it again when he drilled an RBI double into left center field while Marcus Smith scored.

After Gary scored a run in the top of the sixth, that is when the Monarchs blew the game wide open in the bottom half of the inning. After Brady Lindsly and Josh Bissonette recorded a hit, Sahid Valenzuela ripped a liner up the middle to bring in Lindsly. Grant Richardson joined the party with an RBI single and Bissonette glided home. It was a 7-1 advantage and they would not stop there. A wild pitch brought home Valenzuela and Smith grounded out to first while Richardson crossed home plate. Garza could not be stopped and he cranked a solo shot to left field to go with his second homer of the night, three in the past two games. The Monarchs would cycle through the batting order and tack on four more runs all on RBI singles from Lindsly, Valenzuela, and Richardson. It was a nine-run inning and they took a commanding 14-1 advantage.

The bats were on fire all night, but this pitching staff continued to put up another terrific performance led by Dakota Hudson. The once big leaguer said, “I think I was trying to match the aggression that the offense had from the previous day. Trusting  Brady (Lindsly) on what he saw and we had a good plan going into it. Like I said, defense was crazy good today. So just leaning on those guys and letting them do their thing and part of a total complete game.”

It was a night where the Monarchs hit everything that came their way and Head provided that again in the seventh frame. He drove a ground rule double into right field to allow Garza to cross home plate. He talks about his approach at the plate, “I been putting good swings on ball, was just trying to stay patient, and found the barrel today. It felt good to cash on what I felt like good work, good swings, (and) for it to come into fruition felt good.” They tacked on three more tallies.

It was the best offensive performance output since 2024 as Kansas City tied the franchise record with 17 runs. Every player up to bat tonight recorded a hit while all but two batters, had multi-hit games. The series is up for grabs as the Monarchs and Railcats will square off in the rubber match at 1:05 tomorrow afternoon.

Kansas City, KS — It was all business for left-handed pitcher, Steffon Moore, during his time with the Monarchs. After a superb couple of outings, his contract was sold to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday morning.

Steffon talks about his time in Kansas City and says, “I appreciate Joe Calfapietra and Matt Hall for all they have done for me during my time with the Monarchs. I want to also thank Dennis and Dona – my host family for providing a home away from home. And a big thank you to my family for always being in my corner along the way – it is something I cherish. The Monarchs and my teammates are very special to me, and I thank them as well.”

The West Point, MS native came back to Kansas City for his second-straight year and showed why he deserved a return to affiliated ball. He pitched in 8.2 innings with a 1-0 record, giving up only two hits, and amassed 15 strikeouts in that span. Moore struck out 50% of the batters he faced to go with a 0.00 ERA. His fastball touched 96 mph while mixing in his off speed pitches and made it very difficult for batters to make contact.

This is a huge opportunity for Steffon and no one could be more proud than Manager, Joe Calfapietra. The skipper mentions, “It is an amazing part of this job to be able to tell them that one of their dreams has come true. We wish Steffon all the best!”

Moore will be returning to the minor league system for the first time since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays organization in August 2021. Earlier this season, he talked about how he is trusting the process and putting the work in to get better each and everyday. It certainly paid off as Moore made the most of his time with the Monarchs and has a bright future ahead of him. “I am in the right spot, physically, mentally, and spiritually to accept this opportunity with the Cincinnati Reds Organization. It is a dream come true.”

Kansas City, KS — It was a hard fought battle, but a crucial run in the eighth inning gave the Monarchs a 3-2 victory over the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks on Wednesday afternoon.

Four of the five runs came in the first frame and it was Fargo who jumped in front early in the contest. Jesus Lujano led off with a single and Juan Fernandez was hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Jose Sermo walked and the bases were loaded with only one out. It was Colby Wilkerson who registered a fielders choice RBI to bring in Lujano. Jairus Richards did his job when he sent a sac fly to center field while Fernandez scored. It was a quick 2-0 advantage for Fargo.

The Monarchs provided an instant response when Marcus Smith drilled a solo homer to left field as the leadoff hitter. He is now tied for first on the team with 11 RBI’s. Sahid Valenzuela followed it up with a single and eventually scored on a passed ball when Trevor Boone was up to bat. The game was notched up at two apiece.

Once again, the Kansas City pitching staff showed why they are the best in the league. Dakota Chalmers made his 4th start on the bump and had his best day in a Monarchs uniform. He threw seven punch outs and only gave up the two runs in the first. Chalmers talks about his performance and says, “Every time you go out there, you are trying to throw strikes and get outs quickly. I wasn’t able to do that in the first inning. It was a long first and I went about 30 pitches, but was able to get back in there (and) found the slider. I was able to get quick outs in the third and fourth which set me up to go longer in the game. The bullpen has been lights out.”

It was zeros the entire way up until the eighth inning. After Austin Callan flew out to right, this brought in Boone. He sent a grounder towards the Redhawk third baseman, Juan Fernandez, who made a costly error to bring Boone on base. Shortly after, Boone advanced to second on a passed ball and it was Brady Lindsly’s moment to shine. He sent a ball on the first base line to allow Boone to score for the winning run.

The Mississippi native, Steffon Moore, recorded his first save this season with four strikeouts in the final two innings. Kansas City has clinched their fifth-straight series win but is looking for a sweep tomorrow night. Tomorrow will be the final game of the series with a 6:35 pitch before welcoming in the Gary Southshore Railcats on Friday.