Monarchs Put Game to Bed In Final Three Innings, Soar Past Railroaders
Cleburne, TX — After a heartbreaking loss last night, Kansas City quickly moved on and slashed Cleburne with a 13-2 win at La Moderna Field.
It was a fast start from the Monarchs and they cracked the scoreboard right from the jump. In the first inning, both JD Davis and Sahid Valenzuela walked while Austin Callahan advanced Davis on a fielders choice. Former Monarch and current starting Cleburne pitcher, Dakota Chalmers, committed a balk to bring home Davis for the first run. Trevor Boone and Hudson Head were both hit by a pitch that juiced up the bases. After a ball got behind catcher Angel Mendoza, Valenzuela scored to double the lead. Shortly after, Grant Richardson walked and it allowed Boone to add the third tally of the frame.
The Railroaders found a run back in the bottom of the inning, but that did not slow down KC in the second. Davis reached via error and Callahan singled to put two runners on. That brought in the former Diamondback, Luken Baker, who added an RBI double when he crushed a ball into center field. The game quickly changed into a 5-1 Monarch lead after two.
Monarchs southpaw, Austin Krob, got the start on the mound tonight in the same state where he played his affiliated ball. In six innings of work, the Iowa native threw five punchouts with two runs given up. It was another solid outing from the former Pirates product.
This was a 5-2 game heading into the seventh inning after Caleb McNeely homered in the third. Cleburne was in striking distance, but Kansas City had other ideas. To open up the frame, Callahan singled and then Baker was at it once again, but this time he would leave the yard on a two-run shot to left field. The Houston, TX native finished the night 2-5 to go with four RBI’s. Two batters later, Head would smash a solo blast to jump into a six-run advantage.
KC would continue to drive in runs and managed to do so with two outs on the board in the eighth. With Valenzuela at first and Richardson on second, Callahan delivered a ball into right field to bring in Richardson. The Railroaders had issues with the command as another passed ball got by Mendoza to score Valenzuela to bring the score to 10-2.
Just when you thought they were done, the Monarchs threw a knockout punch in the final inning. Boone doubled and Saul Garza tallied his only hit of the night to put the runners on. With two outs on the board and facing a 2-2 count, the lone star state native, Brady Lindsly belted a three-run homer to cap off the night.
It was quite the response from Kansas City given how the game ended yesterday and they will look to carry this momentum into tomorrow night. The two teams will finish the set with a doubleheader and the Monarchs will look to grab both games to win the series with first pitch at 4:00.
