by Gabriel Lopez, Monarchs
Gary, Indiana – The Kansas City Monarchs (7-6) lost the final game of the four-game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats (5-8) Thursday night, 4-3.
In the top of the first inning, Darnell Sweeney reached base after third baseman Thomas Walraven made a fielding error. Sweeney used his speed to take second base.
After Gaby Guerrero walked, Sweeney snatched third base. He was able to score with ease after Leif Strom delivered a wild pitch to Jackson Smith.
With Guerrero on second, David Thompson stepped up and hammered a triple to center field, scoring Guerrero and giving the Monarchs an early 2-0 lead.
It didn’t take very long for the RailCats to respond. Jackson Smith started the second inning with a single to left field. In his first game with the RailCats, Sam Abbott came to the plate and hammered a home run to tie the game, 2-2.
The RailCats were able to load the bases with two outs, but Lewis Thorpe struck out Michael Woodworth to end the inning.
The score remained tied at two apiece until the sixth inning. Smith continued his hitting spree as he laced a leadoff triple and was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Alec Olund, giving the RailCats a 3-2 lead.
The Monarchs kept fighting back. On a ball hit to second, Gaby Guerrero hustled out of the box and beat the throw to first by inches, scoring Willie Abreu.
Matt Blackham entered the game in the bottom of the seventh. In his inning of work, he struck out the side and allowed no runs as the score remained tied, 3-3.
In the eighth inning, Daniel Lingua drove a double to right-center field to score Thomas Walraven. Entering the ninth inning, the RailCats led 4-3.
The Monarchs still continued to fight. In the top of the ninth inning, Darrell Sweeney walked. He stole second base, which gave him his fifth stolen base of the night, tying an American Association record.
After a Matt Adams walk, runners were at first and second with two outs. David Thompson stepped up and hit a ball with spin to shortstop, but Daniel Lingua made a great play and threw him out at first, ending the game 4-3.
The Monarchs walked 11 times, but only gathered three hits on the night. A main reason for the offensive struggles was due to RailCats starting pitcher, Leif Strom. He struck out eight hitters and allowed two earned runs in six innings of work.
The Monarchs will face the Sioux Falls Canaries in the first game of three at 7 p.m. Friday night, May 27, at home at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. 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.