Davis Homers Twice, Monarchs Even Series with Goldeyes
Winnipeg, MB — In a tight knit game, a four-run ninth frame capped off by a JD Davis home run was the difference as the Monarchs pulled away from the Goldeyes with an 8-3 win.
Kansas City found the opening tally in the third frame when Tyler Gentry doubled into center field and then two pitches later, Austin Callahan drove a hard grounder up the middle to bring home Gentry.
The Monarchs found a two tallies in the top of the fourth to build on an early advantage. Grant Richardson collected a base hit and swiped a bag to get into scoring position. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and was brought home on a Jose Torres sac fly. Hudson Head kept the line moving as he grabbed an extra base hit and scored off of a Onix Vega hit into center. It was a 3-0 advantage, but it was far from over.
Sawyer Allen made his second start on the bump for KC and went 5.2 innings allowing three runs, but managed to punch out four batters. There were three pitchers out of the bullpen as Ryan Middendorf, Wyatt Wendell, and Durbin Feltman each threw a pair of K’s.
The Goldeyes would no go away so easily as they plated a run in the bottom half of the fourth. Keshawn Lynch walked and Max Murphy singled to put both runners on. This allowed Peyton Holt to put a blooper into right field and Lynch raced home for the first Winnipeg run.
Five pitches into the sixth inning, Davis smoked a solo jack to reestablish a three-run Monarch advantage.
Once again, Winnipeg would cut into the deficit. Lynch singled and got all the way to third while Holt reached on a fielders choice. With runners at the corners, Adam Hall smacked a hard hit ball up the middle to bring home both Lynch and Holt. This quickly became a 4-3 ballgame.
There were two scoreless innings, but Kansas City knew it had to add some insurance runs while only being up one. That is exactly what they did in the top of the ninth. Luken Baker and Saul Garza remained discipline at the dish and each drew a walk. The Jose Torres impact certainly has been felt by opposing teams as he has fit into this Monarch lineup beautifully. The former Rockies prospect ripped a line drive to bring home Baker to make it 5-3. With two outs on the board, Davis put the game away as he belted a three-run blast into the night sky to finish out an incredible game. The California native went 2-4 with a four RBI performance.
After losing the first game in extras, the Monarchs quickly responded and evened up the set. KC stands 4.5 games ahead of Winnipeg and will look to take a series lead tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:30 at Blue Cross Park.
