A high-powered second inning from the Kansas City Monarchs (4-3) helped the team secure a 4-3 win in the series opener against the Chicago Dogs (3-4) on Friday night.
On Wyandotte County Appreciation Night at Legends Field, the Dogs were able to scrape across one run in the second inning after Charlie Tilson grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Grant Kay. That was the only run Akeem Bostick (1-1) gave up on the night.
After surrendering the lead, the right-hander settled in and delivered three scoreless innings including retiring the last 10 batters he faced.
The Monarchs’ offense quickly responded with four runs in the home half of the second off Chicago starter Shane Barringer (1-1).
Casey Gillaspie led the charge, hitting a fielder’s choice that would score Jan Hernandez for the Monarchs’ first run of the game.
After Alexis Olmeda worked a walk, Joel Booker roped a double down the left field line to score Gillaspie. Darnell Sweeney got involved in the action, driving a single to right to score Olmeda. Pete Kozma brought home Booker on a fielder’s choice to short, giving the Monarchs a 4-1 lead entering the third.
Both teams were quiet for the next three innings. This changed in the sixth as K.C. Dobson scored Danny Mars on a fielder’s choice and Grant Kay belted a solo home run to pull the Dogs to within one.
It was still a one-run game entering the ninth inning, but Brandon Koch struck out the side to shut the door on the Dogs and earn his first save of the season.
The Monarchs will play game two against Chicago at 6 p.m. Saturday with the gates opening at 4 p.m.
The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.
Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.
Piper junior Grace Hanson had plenty of speed left to put a gap between herself and the field at the end of the girls’ 1600-meter run. Hanson won both the 1600- and 3200-meter races after competing in the KSHSAA state swim meet in the morning. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
Bonner Springs and Piper high schools competed Friday in the KSHSAA 5A track and field regional meet at De Soto, one of four regional meets around the state. The top four finishers in each event advance to the state meet in Wichita May 27 and 28.
The Piper Pirates took third place in the boys’ and girls’ team competitions, trailing Mill Valley and De Soto in both. Bonner Springs finished eighth in the girls’ standings and ninth in the boys’.
Here are the qualifiers for each event, with their qualifying position, school and grade.
Piper senior Grant Lockwood ran in the boys’ 400-meter dash. Lockwood won the event with a time of 49.31 seconds. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Jenna Knight, right, and sophomore Esther Solomon Holland ran in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles. Knight placed second in the event, and Solomon Holland placed fifth. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
The Piper boys’ 4×100-meter relay team (Dominique Herrig-Brittian, Grant Lockwood, LaMar Lynch, Divante Herrig-Brittian) posed together after winning the race. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper senior Divante Herrig-Brittian leaned across the line ahead of Highland Park’s Tyrell Reed. Herrig-Brittian won the event with a time of 10.92 seconds. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper sophomore Jayden Henry ran in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles finals. Henry won the event and also qualified in the 300-meter hurdles. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper sophomore Kylie Brockman threw in the girls’ javelin. Brockman finished second in the event with a distance of 124-feet, 5-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Mariyah Noel placed second in the girls’ discus with a throw of 122-feet, 7-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper senior Ryann Clark burst out of the blocks to start the girls’ 400-meter dash. Clark placed third in the event with a time of 1:00.59. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper junior Grace Hanson posed with Mill Valley’s Katie Schwartzkopf after the two finished the girls’ 3200-meter run. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
The Piper girls’ 4×400-meter relay team (Addisyn McCarty, Ryann Clark, Kylie Rice, Genevieve Kulas) posed together after taking third place to advance to the state meet. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper freshman Malia Martin ran in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Jason McConico ran in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Ella Buff passed the baton to Genevieve Kulas in the girls’ 4×100-meter relay. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
PIper junior Camden Beebe threw in the boys’ discus. Beebe placed fourth with a throw of 136-feet, 1-inch. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
The Kansas City Current team travels to southern California for its first test against expansion Angel City FC at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21.
Remaining on the road for the second of three away matches in May, the Current will face the new expansion team, which is third in the National Women’s Soccer League, with a 2-1 record. The match will stream exclusively on Twitch.
The Current are 0-2 on the season, with one draw, and are in 11th place.
Kansas City earned its first point of the season against the Orlando Pride last week with a 2-2 draw. The team fell behind early in the second half before scoring two goals to take the lead.
Rookie forward Elyse Bennett scored her first professional goal in the 78th minute and then provided an assist to Kristen Hamilton on her goal one minute into added time as the Current took a 2-1 lead. However, a penalty called in the fifth minute of added time allowed the Pride to equalize and split the points.
Angel City earned a 1-0 win against the Washington Spirit last week. Forward Christen Press scored the only goal of the match in the 42nd minute of action. Both teams had several chances, but Angel City was able to hold off the Spirit and preserve the win.
Recognition
The Current’s efforts last week were noticed across the league. Elyse Bennett, who played the final 28 minutes of the match, tallied a goal and an assist and earned a nomination for the NWSL Player of the Week. She was previously nominated and won the award during the Challenge Cup.
Goalkeeper A.D. Franch also earned league-recognition this week as she was nominated for the NWSL Save of the Week. Late in the match, as the Current was holding on to the lead, Pride forward Kylie Strom found a small shooting lane at the top of the penalty area and launched a shot towards the net. A leaping save from Franch denied the goal and sent the ball over the cross bar. This is her second nomination in 2022, after being nominated once already in the Challenge Cup.
Expansion
This match features two of the four expansion teams from the past two seasons. Kansas City built its expansion team in less than 200 days for its 2021 start while Angel City had over a year to prepare for its 2022 debut.
Both sides struggled through their initial Challenge Cup tournaments, but Kansas City improved greatly with this year’s tournament, going from the bottom of the table to the top of the Central Division and a berth in the tournament semi-finals.
COVID concerns
Head coach Matt Potter did not travel with the team due to a positive COVID test. Assistant coach Lloyd Yaxley will direct the team on the pitch Saturday. In addition, four players will sit out the match due to COVID protocols. Per a new rule announced by the NWSL on May 13, the team will be signing replacement players to the roster for the match.
Players to watch
Kansas City Current defender Jenna Winebrenner – Winebrenner is a member of the Current’s impressive rookie class for 2022. Selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NWSL Draft, Winebrenner has played in every match of the Challenge Cup and regular season this year, starting all but one. She led all rookies with 30 clearances in the Challenge Cup.
Angel City forward Christen Press – A member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Christen Press is the focal point for Angel City. She leads the team with three goals scored across all competitions and provided the game-winning score against the Washington Spirit last week.
