Category: Kansas City Monarchs

by Kaitlyn Sanders

The Cleburne Railroaders (16-33) put an end to the Kansas City Monarchs’ (32-17) winning streak on Thursday night in Texas with a walk-off single in the 10th that scored two runs.

The Railroaders won 12-11 with Eddie Arroyo’s single in the 10th.

The Monarchs trailed by as much as six twice in the game but tied the score at 10-10 in the top of the eighth. It was close until Cleburne’s winning single.

The Railroaders got on the board first in the bottom of the third as Hector Sanchez singled; then Nick Shumpert doubled to left field, and an Arroyo sacrifice fly brought in Sanchez, bringing the score to 1-0 going into the fourth.

In back-to-back innings, Cleburne rounded the bases as Zach Nehrir led off the inning before stealing second and heading to third on a fly out from Chase Simpson. Hill Alexander sent one to center field for a two-run home run, adding to the Railroaders score, 3-0.

The Railroaders weren’t done adding to the scoreboard in the fifth as Jacob Bockelie got a base hit before Arroyo doubled to right field and Chuck Taylor launched a home run to right field to double Cleburne’s lead at 6-0.

The Monarchs were held to just five hits through five innings with base runners Gaby Guerrero and Kevin Santa both going 2-2 but being stranded both times.

David Thompson got the Monarchs on the board in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to left field to make it 6-1 in favor of Railroaders. A pitching change for Cleburne to Danny Zardon did not stop Casey Gillaspie from hitting a two-run home run to bring in Jan Hernandez, cutting the Railroaders lead in half at 6-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, Kacy Clemens hit a ground-rule double before an Alexander base hit, bringing Clemens home for an RBI. An error from third baseman Thompson advanced Sanchez to first and Alexander landed at third base. Jacob Bockelie singled, bringing in Alexander for another run, and Sanchez filled the spot at third. A sacrifice fly from Arroyo brought in one last RBI for the Railroaders in the sixth and took back a six-run lead, 9-3.

In the top of the seventh, Cleburne turned to Kevin McCarthy out of the bullpen, and the Monarchs promptly load the bases against the Railroader reliever. Alexis Olmeda singled to center field before Darnell Sweeney and Thompson were both walked. A fielder’s choice got Hernandez out at first base but brought in Olmeda for an RBI.

Matt Adams then doubled and cleared the bases, adding two more to the Monarchs tally before the Railroaders initiated another pitching change with the score at 9-6. Cleburne’s new reliever, Austin Fairchild, immediately gave up a two-run home run to Guerrero, bringing the Monarchs within one at 9-8.

It was homer after homer for both sides as Chase Simpson sent a solo shot to right-center field to give the Railroaders a bit of a buffer at 10-8.

Olmeda singled to start the top of the eighth before Sweeney hit a ball to left field for a two-run home run, tying the game at 10-10.

The Railroaders had a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the eighth, but a crucial strikeout from Brandon Koch ended the inning, the game still tied. Monarchs were retired in order in the top of the ninth by Hunter Cervenka.

Cleburne managed to get two runners on with two outs with back-to-back walks but Monarch’s closer Jameson McGrane retired Alexander on a ground ball back to the mound to send the game to extra innings.

With Guerrero on base at second under the American Association extra-inning rule, Pete Kozma reached on an error from the second baseman Arroyo scoring Guerrero, putting the Monarchs up one at 11-10 heading into the bottom of the 10th.

Arroyo atoned for the error in the bottom of the 10th. With runners at second and third and two outs he delivered a bases clearing RBI single to center field that ended the Monarchs five-game winning streak.

Monarchs starting pitcher Jon Harris went 4.1 innings pitched, with 6 hits, 6 runs and 4 strikeouts versus Railroaders starter Kody Bullard, who went 5.1 innings pitched, 6 hits, 2 runs and 6 strikeouts.

The Monarchs have a day off Thursday before starting a new three-game road series against the Lincoln Saltdogs at 7:06 p.m. Friday, July 8. The away game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:36 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 monarchsbaseball.com.

by Adam Cook, Monarchs

While not as big of a boom as Sunday night’s ending, Jan Hernandez once again brought late fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend as his late-game heroics propelled the Monarchs (31-16) to a win Monday night in Cleburne Texas.

The Monarchs defeated the Cleburne Railroaders (15-32) in game one of the away series. The match was a back-and-forth dogfight all the way through, with only one inning with no runs scored, but Kansas City came out on top late, 10-9.

The Monarchs struck early in this holiday showdown as Darnell Sweeney led off the game with a walk from Cleburne starter Garrett Alexander; then he reached second base three pitches later on a fly ball to left field off the bat of Kevin Santa to put a Monarch in scoring position in the first.

Third baseman David Thompson then capitalized on Sweeney’s efforts with an RBI double, giving the Monarchs an early lead.

Gaby Guerrero then stepped in and smacked an RBI single, scoring Thompson and setting the score at 2-0 Monarchs before the turn of the inning.

In the bottom half, Monarchs starting pitcher Akeem Bostick allowed the first two Cleburne batters to reach base, but he then retired the next three without allowing a run, capping the inning off with a four-pitch strikeout.

The Monarchs stayed on Alexander in the second, as shortstop Pete Kozma led the inning with a double before moving to third base, thanks to a single from the next batter in the order, Chad De La Guerra.

Sweeney continued his hot streak when he came to the plate and hit a two-RBI double, scoring both Kozma and De La Guerra. The next batter in the order, Santa, hit a single to fleft that allowed Sweeney time to round the bases and make it home, bringing the score to 5-0 in the second inning.

In the home half, the Railroaders began to head down the right track. Bostick allowed a single to each of the first three batters, loading the bases for Nick Shumpert, who promptly became the fourth batter to hit a grand slam off a Monarchs pitcher this season, cutting the Kansas City lead to one. Bostick then struck out two of the next four batters, retiring three of them and escaping the inning without more damage.

In the third, back-to-back one-out walks from Casey Gillaspie and Kozma and a single from De La Guerra loaded the bases for Kansas City, but then back-to-back punchouts left them that way.

In the bottom half, back-to-back singles put runners at the corners for Cleburne. Hunter Wolfe then bounced into a double play but Hill Alexander scored from third, tying the game at five.

The fourth also proved eventful, as the Monarchs’ half yielded an RBI double from Guerrero that scored Santa, giving KC the lead once again, 6-5.

In the bottom half, an unorthodox triple to center field from Edwin Arroyo put him in scoring position, and he scored two pitches later on a wild pitch, tying the game once more. Later in the inning, a walk and a stolen base from Zach Nehrir put him in scoring position at second base, and Kacy Clemens capitalized with an RBI single, giving Cleburne its first lead of the game, 7-6.

The Monarchs didn’t allow the lead to change for long, however, as De La Guerra led the top half of the fifth off with a solo home run to knot the score at seven.

In the bottom half, Bostick called it a night as Justin Donatella entered at the beginning of the half inning and recorded the first 1-2-3 inning of the contest, to be followed by six more straight outs in the sixth.

In the top half of the seventh, a Kozma walk broke the streak of 1-2-3 innings, but the Monarchs were unable to cash in.

For the Railroaders, a trio of singles scored Clemens and gave the Railroaders an 8-7 lead.

In the eighth, the Monarchs got two on the bases but Cleburne reliever Austin Fairchild kept them stranded, holding the one-run Railroaders’ lead as the teams headed to the bottom of the eighth.

Offensively, the Railroaders’ Arroyo drew a leadoff walk, and then stole both second and third. This allowed Chase Simpson’s single to score Arroyo, giving Cleburne an insurance run late, as the Railroaders now held a two-run 9-7 lead.

To begin the ninth inning, Railroaders’ closer Nick Gardewine entered and walked the first two batters he faced, giving Kansas City the go-ahead run at the plate with no outs. After a flyout and a pinch hit strikeout, Sweeney was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Santa with two away. Santa drew a 3-2 walk to score one.

Hernandez came to the plate, just a day after his electrifying walkoff grand slam. As the night before, Hernandez drew the count to 3-2 with two outs and the bases loaded. Hernandez, the last chance for the Monarchs, delivered.

He hit a two-RBI single that gave the Monarchs a 10-9 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.

In the bottom half, Jameson McGrane came on to slam the door, and after a Hunter Wolfe single, he was helped out by a great play at the warning track by left fielder Sweeney to save extra bases and a run. Hernandez caught the final out in center field, sealing the win for the Monarchs in the ninth.

The Monarchs take on the Railroaders again at 7:06 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, for game two of the series. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:36 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 Adam Cook, Monarchs

The Kansas City Monarchs (30-16) made it back-to-back nights with fireworks for 4th of July weekend, except this time they were on the field instead of in the air after a walkoff grand slam gave Kansas City the win and the sweep over the Gary SouthShore RailCats (20-27) on Sunday.

Monarchs starting pitcher Nick Belzer started the game on the right track with a three-batter inning with the help of a zero out double play.

This set the Monarchs up for success in the bottom half, where Darnell Sweeney took the first pitch of the game for the Monarchs offense to the right field Home Run Hill, giving Kansas City an early 1-0 lead.

In the second, the RailCats’ offense showed a little more life. Victor Nova led the inning with a fly ball to center that got lost in the sun, giving him a leadoff double. This was followed by a Jesus Marriaga single to score Nova, evening the score at one.

Belzer then recorded a strikeout and flyout in the next two batters, and picked Marriaga off at first base to end the inning.

The RailCats stayed on Belzer in the top of the third, leading off the inning with a single from Jackson Smith and a double from Alec Olund, giving Gary runners at the corners with no outs. Smith attempted to go home on a ground ball to Monarchs third baseman David Thompson, but a heads-up play from Thompson nabbed him at the plate, keeping the score tied while Olund advanced to third.

A sacrifice fly to center by Daniel Lingua gave the RailCats their first lead of the series before Belzer escaped the inning without any more damage. In the bottom half, the Monarchs offense once again began to come together. A leadoff single from Darnell Sweeney set him up to swipe his 19th bag of the season, tying the league lead. Two batters later, Matt Adams flew out to center field, advancing Sweeney to third. Next man up David Thompson then delivered with a two-out RBI single over the second baseman to score Sweeney and even the score at two before the turn of the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Belzer got back on track and retired the side in three batters for the first time since the first. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, this was the theme of the inning, as RailCats starter Adam Heidenfelder returned the 1-2-3 favor to the Monarchs bats.

In the fifth, the RailCats’ Alec Olund hit a one-out triple that set Thomas Walraven up with an RBI opportunity. Walraven took advantage of this and then some with a deep two-run home run to left, putting the RailCats ahead 4-2. The Monarchs didn’t let the RailCats escape the inning unscathed, however, as they led off the bottom half of the sixth with back-to-back doubles from Sweeney and Kevin Santa, bringing Kansas City within one, 4-3.

Jordan Martinson relieved Nick Belzer to begin the sixth inning for the Monarchs, and recorded a perfect 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom half, the Monarchs made some noise on the bases with a single and a walk but stranded Willie Abreu at third base to end the inning.

The seventh and the eighth did not provide any fireworks on Fourth of July eve, as only two batters reached base over the two innings, both by way of the walk.

Jameson McGrane came on in the top of the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Victor Nova, but he then struck out the next three batters to strand him on the bases, handing the Monarchs bats a one-run deficit entering the bottom of the ninth.

After the first two Monarchs of the inning were sat down in order, the next two, Matt Adams and David Thompson, reached base after being hit by pitches. This brought first baseman Casey Gillaspie to the plate with the game on the line. Gillaspie hit a backhand ground ball to shortstop Daniel Lingua, who overthrew first baseman Chris Burgess to score Adams, evening the score at four and sending the game to the tenth inning.

McGrane remained on the bump for the top of the tenth, except this time with a runner at second base for the extra-innings rule. Then, he attempted to score on a ground ball to second baseman Kevin Santa, but Santa delivered a bullet to catcher J.C. Escarra to nab him at the plate and keep the score tied.

In the bottom half, Gaby Guerrero began the inning at second base but remained there after back-to-back strikeouts to begin the inning. With two outs, the RailCats opted to intentionally walk Darnell Sweeney to get to Kevin Santa, who was then unintentionally walked on a 3-2 count, bringing all-star Jan Hernandez to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. In the clutch situation, Hernandez did what Hernandez does, and sent a deep drive to right field for a walkoff grand slam, sending a roar through Legends Field and giving the Monarchs the win and the sweep.

The Monarchs hit the road on Monday, July 4, as they face the Cleburne Railroaders for a three-game series starting at 7:06 p.m. The match can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:36 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.