The Kansas City Monarchs (38-22) took home a massive 15-6 win against the Houston Apollos (8-52), courtesy of infielder Will Kengor, who tied a franchise record for the number of RBIs in a game.
The Apollos scored two runs in the top of the second, taking an early lead over Kansas City.
Kengor kicked off the Monarchs’ offense with a three-run homer in the bottom of the second, scoring himself, Gaby Guerrero and Casey Gillaspie.
Houston made its way back to the top of the scoreboard, hitting four runs in the top of the third.
Kansas City answered quickly, with Morgan McCullough hitting a double then running home after a sacrifice fly by Darnell Sweeney, cutting into the Apollos’ lead 6-4 as they headed into the fourth inning.
Justin Donatella (1-0) relieved starting right-handed pitcher Justin Shafer in the top of the fourth. Shafer left after pitching for three innings, recording seven hits, six runs, four earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts.
The Monarchs continued to chip away in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with a double by Gillaspie. After advancing to third after a Colin Willis put out, a wild pitch while Charcer Burks was up to bat allowed Gillaspie to punch in a run, putting Kansas City behind by only one run, 5-6.
Kansas City took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with a broken-bat single to left by Guerrero to score McCullough. A single to center field by Willis then scored Grotjohn and Guerrero. The offense didn’t stop there; McCullough hit another single and scored both Willis and Burks.
Righthander Ryan Newell took over the mound in the top of the sixth, relieving winning pitcher Donatella. Donatella pitched for two innings, recorded one hit, and one strikeout.
In the bottom of the eighth, Darnell Sweeney tacked on another run for the Monarchs after Willis advanced to first off a fielder’s choice.
Kengor then hit a three-run home run all the way to the Home Run Hill, tying the franchise record for the number of RBIs (7) in a game.
Basehor, Kansas, native and rookie right-handed pitcher Brock Gilliam stepped on the mound for the top of the ninth, relieving Jacob Lindgren. Gilliam recorded three-straight strikeouts in his pro debut, giving Kansas City the win 15-6.
The Kansas City Monarchs will match up against the Houston Apollos again Tuesday, with the first pitch set for 7 p.m. with the gates opening at 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 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.
- by Emerson Peavey, Monarchs