Hakanson Hurls Monarchs to Series Win

LINCOLN, Neb. – Jeff Hakanson delivered a gem in a crucial situation and willed the Kansas City Monarchs to a pivotal rubber-game win.

The Monarchs, headlined by Hakanson, proved too much for the Lincoln Saltdogs. Kansas City pulled out the series at Haymarket Park with a 3-1 win on Thursday night.

Hakanson spun one of his best outings as a Kansas City Monarch. The right-hander dealt 2.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

He entered following an injury to KC starter Jackson Goddard. Hakanson (1-0) picked up right where his starter left off, back-to-back strikeouts in the fourth and fanned the side in the fifth.

Goddard posted 3.1 scoreless innings in his second start.

The Monarchs (9-3) bullpen finished out a stellar series at Lincoln. Jake Brentz and Blake Goldsberry kept the Saltdogs (3-9) off the board, Tyler McKay earned his second save of the season.

Alvaro Gonzalez made the difference early with a solo home run in the third inning. Gonzalez demolished a 406-foot tank for a 1-0 Kansas City lead.

The Monarchs have now belted a league-best 22 home runs on the season.

Josh Bissonette added an RBI single in the seventh inning to stretch the lead to 2-0. Gonzalez delivered a third run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

UP NEXT

The Monarchs open a nine-game home stand at Legends Field on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. Kansas City hosts the Lake Country Dockhounds for a three-game set, tickets are available at monarchsbaseball.com.