In an 8-2 win over Sioux City (28-18) on Friday, the Monarchs (28-19) climbed ahead of the Explorers in the standings.
Darnell Sweeney got the scoring started early for the Monarchs with a home run in the first couple minutes of the game.
The tempo picked up in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Monarchs earned six runs, making the score 7-0.
Daniel Wasinger and Jan Hernandez both recorded 2 RBIs with runs coming in from Colin Willis, Nick Franklin, Darnell Sweeney and Ryan Grotjohn. Another RBI resulted in a wild pitch, and the final RBI of the inning came from Casey Gillaspie, scoring Hernandez.
Hernandez looked for back-to-back RBIs with another one in the fifth inning, extending the lead to 8-0.
Sioux City did not go quietly, with two RBIs in the seventh inning from D.J. Poteet and Chris Clare that scored Joseph Monge and L.T. Tolbert.
Starting pitcher Jake Matthys (5-1) pitched seven innings with five strikeouts and earned the win.
The Monarchs will face the Sioux City Explorers in game two of the three-game series Saturday night at Legends Field. First pitch on Saturday is slated for 7 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.
Fireworks are planned every Saturday night. The theme on Saturday, July 10, is “Party in the Park,” with $2 beers and hot dogs from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a live DJ.
Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.
- by Kaitlyn Sanders, Monarchs