KANSAS CITY, Kan. - It was a day full of RBIs for Kansas City with high-scoring games in both wins over Houston.
Game 1
The Houston Apollos (4-19) kicked game one off in the top of the third inning with a homer hit by Brian Dansereau, then another hit by Alvaro Gonzalez.
Morgan McCullough hit a double ground ball to right field, and Darnell Sweeney walked to first. McCullough then stole third, and Sweeney went to second. Jan Hernandez was hit by pitch to get him to first, loading up the bases. Gabby Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly to third, allowing McCullough to score, and Sweeney moved to third.
Manager David Peterson was ejected in the middle of the fourth inning after he tried to dispute a third out for the Apollos.
The Monarchs (10-10) got busy in the bottom of the fifth, starting with a single to right field by catcher Alexis Olmeda followed by a walk for Sweeney. Grotjohn then hit a single to center field, loading up the bases. Hernandez walked to first, allowing Olmeda to punch in an RBI. Then a fantastic Guerrero grand slam to the bullpen put the Monarchs up 6-2.
Willis doubled to far-right field, and a single RBI to center field by Olmeda allowed Willis to score from second.
Elroy Urbina relieved winning pitcher Nick Travieso (1-4) in the top of the seventh. Travieso pitched for six innings, recorded six strikeouts, and allowed two runs.
Urbina finished the first game pitching one inning, recording two strikeouts and allowing one walk. Monarchs win game one of the double header, 7-2.
Game 2
RHP Jameson McGrane started off the night with three straight strikeouts in the first inning.
The Monarchs offense started scoring in the second inning with an RBI Double and two more RBIs from new addition catcher Alexis Olmeda and shortstop Kevin Santa, giving them a quick 4-0 lead.
One inning full of strikeouts wasn’t enough for McGrane as he garnered three more strikeouts again in the third.
Santa gifted another RBI in the fourth inning, extending the Monarchs lead to 5-0.
Winning pitcher Cody Mincey matched McGrane’s success with four strikeouts in two innings.
It was then a series of unfortunate events for Kansas City as Houston scored two RBIs from Jordan Pontious and Brian Dansereau in the sixth inning, but with an outstretched hand from Johnny Field, that's where the runs stopped for the Apollos as they cut the Monarchs lead to 5-2.
Olmeda avoided a strikeout in the sixth inning, thanks to a wild pitch, allowing for an RBI from Charcer Burks, adding to the lead, 6-2. That wasn’t all for the Monarchs in the sixth as Olmeda earned his own RBI along with one more from Darnell Sweeney, making it 8-2 going into the last inning.
The Apollos weren’t going down quietly as they acquired two more RBIs from Breland Almadova and Pontious in the top of the seventh inning, but the Monarchs (11-10) ended with a final score of 8-4, putting them above .500 for the first time this season.
Kansas City and Houston will finish the series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Legends Field in KCK. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 12:40 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 visiting monarchsbaseball.com.