Month: June 2021

Gillaspie homers for Monarchs’ walk-off win

It had been 21 months and 19 days since Kansas City had walked off winners in a game at home.

Casey Gillaspie had a 13th inning RBI single on Sept. 1, 2019, against Sioux City. On Saturday, June 19, Gillaspie did it again, delivering a walk-off winner as the Monarchs (16-11) beat the Winnipeg Goldeyes (11-15) 5-3 in 11 innings on a two-run home run by the former Wichita State standout.

It was a quiet four innings for both teams until the Winnipeg Goldeyes’ Wes Darvill hit a home run in the top of the fifth.

The Goldeyes’ Darren Seferina hit another home run, scoring him and Sonny Ulliana to take the lead 3-0.

The Monarchs responded with a homer of their own by Darnell Sweeney off the batter’s eye. Sweeney’s home run scored him and Morgan McCullough, cutting into Winnipeg’s lead 3-2.

It seemed to be a bullpen day at Legends Field, starting with Jameson McGrane (0-1) who came off the mound after pitching the first three innings, allowing three hits and three strikeouts. Then Jacob Lindgren pitched for one inning, recording one hit and allowing one walk. Jose Taveras then pitched one inning, allowing three hits, three runs, and three errors.

Erik Cha pitched an inning, allowing one hit and a single strikeout. Cody Mincey also pitched one inning and allowed one hit and two strikeouts.

Charcer Burks became the star with a defensive play in the top of the eighth inning, catching what could have been a double, right by the home bullpen. Burks’ clutch play and Brian Ellington’s pitching kept the Goldeyes from scoring.

Kansas City hopped back to action in the bottom of the eighth and tied the game, with Grotjohn hitting a double to centerfield and then crossing home plate, thanks to a groundball single to centerfield by Jan Hernandez.

Brian Ellington pitched for an inning and allowed two walks and recorded one strikeout. Carlos Diaz took the Monarchs into overtime, pitching for two innings, allowing one hit and recording four strikeouts. Elroy Urbina (1-0) closed the game out for Kansas City, pitching for one inning, not allowing any hits. Urbina was credited with the win.

Both teams couldn’t manage to get on the board in the ninth, bringing the game to extra innings. It was a quiet tenth, but then the Monarchs cracked it back open in bottom of eleventh with a two-run homer, courtesy of Casey Gillaspie, scoring him and Gabby Guerrero.

The Kansas City Monarchs will close out its three-game series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes Sunday at 3 p.m. at Legends Field. The gates will open at 2 p.m.

The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 2:35 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.

  • Story by from Dan Vaughan, Kansas City Monarchs

Faith news

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has information about churches, Masses, and reflections, at https://www.facebook.com/archkck.

Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King Catholic churches will hold Masses on Sunday, June 20. For more information, visit the churches’ websites or Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/Christ-the-King-Parish-KCKS-1392808997677579 and https://www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck. Mass is online at https://www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck. Blessed Sacrament Church, 2215 Parallel, will hold a dinner-dance from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. July 31. Tickets will be $40 per person or $70 per couple. The Knights of Columbus at Christ the King Catholic Church will hold a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 20, in Davern Hall. The church will hold a dunk tank night social event at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 26. The church will sponsor a Community Blood Center blood drive from 12:30 pm. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 28, at Davern Hall, church basement, 3024 N. 53rd St., Kansas City, Kansas. To make an appointment, visit esavealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040.

Casa – Worship House Christian Church, 5217 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, will have Sunday services at 11 a.m. June 20. The church has an online service at www.facebook.com/casadealabanzaKCKS. A family breakfast is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday, June 20. For more information, visit Facebook @casadealabanzaKCKS.

Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold Sunday worship services at 9:45 a.m. June 20 on Facebook. See https://www.facebook.com/ORMBCKC/ or http://ormbc.org/.

Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services in person at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 20, and livestream at https://www.facebook.com/opendoorkc/ and https://www.opendoorkc.com/.

Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic Church, 2300 N. 8th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold Vacation Bible School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 29 to July 2. The VBS is for kindergarten through fourth graders. The theme is Earthkeepers. There will be music, games, crafts and scripture. To register, visit http://tinyurl.com/OLSRVBS2021.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, June 20. Services also will be livestreamed on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StonyPointChristianChurch. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. The church is holding Vacation Bible School from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, June 21, to Thursday, June 24., with a celebration at 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 25.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold Mass in person and online for Sunday, June 20, at https://www.facebook.com/StPatrickKCK.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will continue with its in-person service at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 20. The service also will be available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsKCK/.

Sunset Hills Christian Church, 6347 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services on Sunday, June 20. For more information about this Sunday’s plans, visit the Facebook page of Pastor Mike Barnett, https://www.facebook.com/mike.barnett.528. Services are also provided through checkout of DVD or SD Card and can be sent by email upon request. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/sunsethills.christianchurch.

Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will have a worship service at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 20. A video of the service will be at https://www.facebook.com/Wyandotteumc.

Information about other church services in Wyandotte County may be available from the church’s social media page.
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Sporting travels to Portland for match tonight

A marquee Western Conference matchup beckons on Saturday night as second-place Sporting Kansas City (5-2-2, 17 points) travels to face the Portland Timbers (3-4-0, 9 points) in a 9:30 p.m. showdown at Providence Park in Oregon.

Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest will provide three hours of live television coverage on Saturday beginning at 9 p.m.

Supporters can stream the contest on BallySports.com or the Bally Sports app, while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates. The game will also air live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB.

Led by manager Peter Vermes, Sporting pushed its unbeaten run to four matches last Saturday with a 1-1 home draw against Austin FC that lifted the club within a point of first place in the Western Conference.

Daniel Salloi struck a second-half equalizer — converting one of 32 shot attempts for the dominant hosts — and is now tied for third in MLS alongside teammate Alan Pulido with six combined goals and assists this season.

Sporting leads MLS with 16 goals and a remarkable 13 points from losing positions, nine more than any other team.

One of the league’s best attacking teams will receive a further boost this weekend as Pulido returns to Sporting after a two-week stint with the Mexico Men’s National Team. The 30-year-old striker in May notched a league-best five goals and an assist while helping Sporting to four wins.

Midfielder Gadi Kinda, who ranks third on the team with three goals, is also back after a successful European trip that saw him score in his debut for Israel.

Kinda is questionable for Saturday’s clash with a foot ailment, as is veteran Sporting defender Graham Zusi as he recovers from a hamstring strain. French midfielder Remi Walter (knee) and backup goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh (adductor) will miss out through injury.

Portland reached impressive heights in 2020, securing the MLS is Back Tournament championship last summer and finishing with a formidable 11-6-6 regular season record under head coach Giovanni Savarese.

The Timbers have endured an up-and-down start to 2021 with three wins and four losses, including a 3-0 setback at the hands of reigning Supporters’ Shield champion Philadelphia Union in their most recent match on May 30. Portland has employed a balanced attack thus far, receiving nine goals from eight different scorers — tied for the most in MLS.

Forward Felipe Mora is the lone Portland player with two goals this season and is one of two Timbers who will miss Saturday’s contest on international duty. Mora has joined Chile for the 2021 Copa America in Brazil, while standout midfielder Yimmi Chara is competing in the same tournament with Colombia.

The Timbers have been injury-hit during the early stages of 2021. Star playmaker Sebastian Blanco and prolific forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda are still awaiting their season debuts after suffering serious setbacks last year, while veteran Diego Chara has been limited to three appearances and hasn’t played since early May.

Midfielder Eryk Williamson, forward Jeremy Ebobisse and talisman Diego Valeri — one of three MLS players all-time with 80 goals and 80 assists in the regular season — figure to play key roles as the Timbers enter the early summer.

Sporting owns a 4-3-2 regular season record at Providence Park, posting five shutouts in nine trips to the stadium. Goalkeeper Tim Melia has been particularly effective in road matches against Portland, earning clean sheets in four of five regular season appearances at Providence Park.

The Timbers, however, boast two postseason feathers in their cap. Portland notably defeated Sporting on penalty kicks in the 2015 Western Conference Knockout Round and prevailed in the 2018 Western Conference Championship behind a 3-2 win in the decisive second leg of the series at Children’s Mercy Park.

Sporting and Portland haven’t met since September 2019 when the sides met twice during the stretch run of the regular season. The Timbers claimed a dramatic 2-1 home win on Sept. 7, striking twice in the final 10 minutes, before the teams played to an entertaining 2-2 stalemate on Sept. 29 in Kansas City.

  • Story from Sporting KC