Monarchs Shut Out Saltdogs, Grab First Game of the Series

Lincoln, NE — The Monarchs opened up the series in Lincoln and it was an 11-0 thrashing over the Lincoln Saltdogs on Memorial Day behind a six-run ninth inning.

It was a game where it went five scoreless innings thanks to the help of the starting pitcher, Dylan Heid, who went three innings while giving up two hits and two strikeouts.

The scoring opened up in the sixth inning due to the former LSU tiger, Saul Garza. Once again Garza read the perfect pitch and cranked a solo homer to left field. It was the third time this season that Garza was responsible for the first run of the game, which were all home runs, respectively.

After this homer, the flood gates opened. Austin Callahan, who returned to his home state, was able to single right after while Trevor Boone collected a hit, and Marcus Smith reached base via fielders choice. Catcher Ryan Leitch earned his first RBI of the season when he belted a ball in center field to bring home two more runners. Kansas City jumped into a 3-0 advantage and would not slow down from there.

Kansas City continued to produce on the defensive side. They threw five pitchers out of the bullpen and the most impressive was third-year Monarch, Jeff Hakanson. He pitched in the sixth and seventh inning throwing five punch outs with only one hit given up. The Monarchs pitchers totaled 10 strikeouts and once again, it was another solid outing from this extremely talented bullpen.

Smith made his presence felt the entire game at the plate, but especially in the eighth inning. After Boone led off with a double, he smashed a two-run bomb to left field for his second homer of the season. The local product finished his day going 3-5 at the plate and tacked on four RBI’s.

It was in the ninth inning where this team showed their depth and versatility. Sahid Valenzuela grabbed his first hit of the night  while Grant Richardson walked. The Monarchs remained extremely disciplined at the plate and nothing came easy for the Saltdogs bullpen. Two batters later, Smith continued to rake in RBI’s when he roped a liner into left field to bring in two runners. The inning kept on rolling for the Monarchs as Josh Bissonette reached first via error and Callahan scored. This lineup was on a tear and Hudson Head added the 12th and final hit of the night by smoking a triple into right field to score two more runs.

It was the best performance from the Monarchs all year on both sides of the ball. They amassed the most amount of hits all season (12) while throwing their first shutout. After back-to-back series wins, this team has shown no signs of slowing down and will look to continue that in the second game of the series tomorrow. First pitch is at 6:35 at Haymarket Park.