Category: Kansas City Monarchs

Monarchs win on the road, 8-3

After dropping the first two games of the road series to the Winnipeg Goldeyes (30-31), the Kansas City Monarchs (37-22) were in need of a victory to help stay atop of the South division standings.

The Monarchs got the win Sunday, 8-3, in Jackson, Tennessee.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes chose 26-year-old, Greg Harris, as their starter for the day.

6’3” right-handed pitcher from Valley Head, Alabama, was acquired by the Goldeyes through trade with the Chicago Dogs earlier this season. Harris went 0-2 while on staff with the Dogs and came into the day 1-1 with Winnipeg.

Kansas City, which scored first in the previous game, did so again with three first-inning runs. Morgan McCullough and Ryan Grotjohn both took the base on balls to start the game, followed by a Darnell Sweeney home run to take the early lead 3-0.

Despite the 37-pitch first inning by Harris, the Winnipeg Goldeyes did not flinch at all and responded in the bottom half of the inning with one run off of a Max Murphy double (3-1).

The Monarchs were led on the hill by right-hander Jameson McGrane. The hurler put the team in great position to win the ballgame with his eighth start of the season. After working out of a jam in the first inning, McGrane went on to retire six of the next seven batters.

The fourth inning served to be the best one for the Goldeyes as they were able to manufacture two runs off two walks, a single, and a double play groundout. McGrane got through the fifth before passing the ball to Elroy Urbina.

Kansas City ultimately put the nail in the coffin during the sixth inning. A trio of doubles from Colin Willis, Charcer Burks, and Will Kegor helped the Monarchs add some much needed cushion. It didn’t stop there either. Catcher Alexis Olmeda added an RBI single to left to top off the five-run inning (8-3).

McGrane’s outing of six innings, ten hits, three walks, and one strikeout served to be enough for the Sunday road victory, improving his 2021 season record to 4-1. Despite giving up double digit hits, he stayed aggressive with his pitches and let his defense work.

Elroy Urbina came up huge for Kansas City. The three innings of relief were his longest so far this season. The left-hander controlled all momentum down the final stretch of the game. Urbina only allowed five batters to reach base in the final three innings. The Goldeyes collected three hits off the reliever, but no runs.

The series finale win kept the Monarchs’ division lead at two and a half games over the Cleburne Railroaders.

The Monarchs will return home Monday for a four-game series with the Houston Apollos. Game one of five will get underway at 7 p.m. Monday night with the gates opening at 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 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 Jaxson Webb, Monarchs

Walk-off home run leads to back-to-back losses for Monarchs

A back-and-forth game ended in the bottom of the ninth when Kyle Martin launched a two-run home run to cap a wild night in Jackson, Tennessee, as the Kansas City Monarchs (36-22) fell to the Winnipeg Goldeyes (30-30) by a 9-6 final.

The Monarchs got on the board in the top of the first inning. Darnell Sweeney doubled and came home on an RBI single from Gabby Guerrero.

Kansas City had the opportunity to put more runs on the board in the third inning with bases loaded and no outs, but nobody crossed home as the score remained 1-0 going into the bottom of the third. The Monarchs left a season-high 13 runners stranded on the night.

Winnipeg finally saw players on base in the bottom of the sixth. With no outs and Tyler Hill and Jay Gonzalez on first and second, Max Murphy hit an RBI double into center field, giving Winnipeg a 2-1 lead. The Goldeyes added another run in the inning as Raul Navarro produced an RBI single, bringing in Murphy to add to the lead, 3-1.

The Monarchs saw a familiar scenario with bases loaded again at the top of the seventh.
Casey Gillaspie hit a ball to the left side of the infield that that would have ended the inning but a wide throw at second by third baseman Raul Navarro scored Morgan McCullough and Ryan Grotjohn to tie the game at three on the error.

Colin Willis drew a walk to load the bases off Goldeye reliever Travis Seabrooke. The right-hander then walked Charcer Burks and Will Kenjor to score two more runs and give KC the 5-3 lead.

Kansas City did not keep the lead for long as Winnipeg also loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh. Wes Darvill led off with a home run off Ryan Newell. Newell then walked Kevin Lachance who moved to second on an sacrifice bunt from Austin Rei. Dalbert Siri then entered the game for the Monarchs and he walked Tyler Hill to put runners at first and second. Then Max Murphy drove in one run with a single to right to tie the game at five. Kyle Martin hit a fielder’s choice to first scoring the runner from third to give the Goldeyes the lead 6-5.

In the top of the ninth and with two outs and Gillaspie at third and Kengor at first, Daniel Wasinger hit an RBI single to center field, bringing in Gillaspie and tying the game at 6-6.

With two outs and two men on base, a home run from Martin dashed Kansas City’s hopes of going into extra innings, and Winnipeg took the second game of the series 9-6.

Kansas City will wrap up the road trip with the final game against the Winnipeg Goldeyes in Jackson on Sunday afternoon before returning to Kansas City to play the Houston Apollos on Monday.

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

  • Story by Kaitlyn Sanders

Late rally not quite enough for Monarchs

It took a while for anyone to get on the board in the Kansas City Monarchs’ 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Goldeyes Friday night in Jackson, Tennessee.

Both starters kept the other club’s offense in check in a scoreless game through four innings.

In the fifth, the Goldeyes struck first when a Kevin Lachance tripled in a run giving Winnipeg the lead 1-0. With two outs, Logan Hill drove in Lachance to increase the Goldeye lead to 2-0 after five frames

Kansas City got one of those runs back after Morgan McCullough scampered home on a passed ball in the top of the sixth, but the Monarchs could not score

Ryan Grotjohn from second to tie the game. Lachance extended the Goldeyes lead back to two runs in the home half of the inning with an infield single scoring Raul Navarro.

Charcer Burks missed a game-tying, two-run home run in the top of the seventh by a couple of inches, but it was enough to score Colin Willis from second to make it a one-run game. Burks stole third, but reliever Nate Antone struck out a pair of Monarchs to end the threat.

In the top of the eighth, the Monarchs threatened again when Darnell Sweeney slapped a first pitch single to right field. He got to second on a balk but was thrown out trying to steal third. Grotjohn was stranded at first when two more Monarchs struck out to end the inning.

It was reliever Dalbert Siri’s turn to strike his way out of trouble in the bottom of the eighth. After putting runners on the corners with one out, Siri fanned a pair of Goldeyes to escape the jam.

Willis gave a ball a ride to attempt a last-gasp rally in the ninth, but Goldeye right fielder Max Murphy made a diving catch to keep the Monarchs off the base paths in the inning.

Kansas City will play two more against the Winnipeg Goldeyes in Jackson on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon before returning to Kansas City to play the Houston Apollos on Monday. The first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:05 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 Nathan Enserro, Monarchs