Monarchs Fight Back in Legends Field Finale

By Cal Friedman

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – One big inning flipped the script to keep the Kansas City Monarchs’ playoff hopes alive.

The Monarchs overturned a 3-1 Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks lead with eight consecutive hits in the fifth inning. Kansas City scored six unanswered runs to claim a 7-5 win over Fargo-Moorhead on Thursday night. The Monarchs earned a series victory in their regular-season home finale at Legends Field.

Isaiah Gilliam, Moisés Gómez and Jhailyn Ortiz ripped three straight RBI doubles to give the Monarchs a 5-3 lead.

Nine straight Monarchs (44-52) reached in the fifth inning. Justin O’Conner capped the frame with an RBI single to make it 6-3.

Left-hander Matt Hall dominated to open the game. The southpaw struck out seven Fargo-Moorhead (52-44) batters in three innings. 

The former major leaguer struck out the side in the third inning all with offspeed pitches.

“The curveball was going well,” Hall said. “[Catcher Herbert Iser] was doing a great job keeping the rhythm going. Defense was great behind me.”

Hall finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Thursday night marked Hall’s sixth 10-strikeout performance as a Monarch.

“It’s always great to come home,” Hall said. “The fans were amazing.”

RedHawks outfielder Alec Olund lifted a two-run home run in the seventh inning. The 394-foot blast to left cut the Monarchs’ lead to 7-5.

Backend relievers Nate Tellier and Gabriel Ponce down any chance of a late rally. Tellier recorded 1.2 scoreless innings, Ponce retired the ninth in order to get his second save as a Monarch.

UP NEXT

The Monarchs close their regular season in South Dakota against the Sioux Falls Canaries. The four-game series begins at Sioux Falls Stadium Friday night at 7:05 p.m.