Monarchs Blank Milkmen in Defensive Duel, Grab Early Series Lead
Milwaukee, WI — There were only two runs scored in the first game of the Miles Wolff Cup final and the Monarchs grabbed them both with a 2-0 win at Franklin Field on Monday night.
With two of the best pitching staff’s in the league, runs were hard to come by, but the Monarchs found the opening tally of the series in the third frame. There was already one down and JD Davis drilled a hard grounder up the middle to get on base. Grant Richardson grounded to the second baseman, but got on base via fielders choice as Davis was thrown out at second. With two away, the batting order flipped to the top and Tyler Gentry stayed patient at the dish to draw a walk which put two runners on. This brought in Austin Callahan who quickly got down in a 1-2 count. He saw the fourth pitch and tapped a ball into shallow left and Richardson raced home to give KC the lead. It was a timely RBI single from Callahan.
Sawyer Allen tallied his second playoff start and was outstanding on the bump. The 22-year old southpaw threw six innings of work while not allowing a single run and shoved five K’s. He continued to paint the zone and delivered timely punch outs while the Monarchs were lockdown on the defensive side. Buddy Reed, Emmanuel Chapman, Tyler Myrick, and Durbin Feltman stepped out of the pen with Feltman recording his 10th save.
Kansas city knew that one run wasn’t going to be enough, so they drove in the second tally in the top of the sixth frame. Callahan led off with a base hit while Luken Baker stayed patient at the plate and drew a walk to put two on. With one out, Onix Vega arrived on the scene as he hit a liner to center field and Callahan charged home from second base. The Monarchs had doubled the lead and it would be the final run tonight.
Arguably the biggest moment of the game happened in the seventh inning. The Milkmen would not go away so easily and were primed for a run in the bottom of the frame. The Milwaukee first baseman, Griffin Doersching, led off with a walk. Reed came on in relief for Allen to try and get out of the inning, but instead threw two-straight walks as the bases were loaded with nobody out. Joe Calfapietra made the call to the bullpen and decided to bring in the former Pirates product, Chapman. The Cuban native wasted no time and struck out Charlie Marion, but there was more work to be done. The next batter, Yordys Valdes, tapped a chopper straight to Chapman and he made the force at home to prevent Doersching from scoring. With two down, Delvin Perez hit a hard grounder to Sahid Valenzuela and he made the play at first to keep the Milkmen scoreless. It was a game-changing inning and one that would be crucial.
This was a very even game as there were 12 combined hits and each team left nine on base. The Monarchs grabbed a huge victory and are now two wins away from being Miles Wolff Cup champions. Kansas City ace, Jimmy Endersby will get the start on the mound and face Milwaukee right-hander, Christian Young. They will look to grab both games in Milwaukee as there will be a 6:35 first pitch tomorrow night at Franklin Field.
