Bullpen Falters, Monarchs Walk-Off Victory to Win Series
KANSAS CITY, KS – The Kansas City Monarchs defeated the Winnipeg Goldeyes (11-16) by a score of 9-8 at Legends Field Sunday afternoon.
For the second consecutive game, Kansas City (17-11) won the contest with a home run in their final at bat as Jan Hernandez hit a two-run shot to left field with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning to overcome an 8-7 deficit. It was the seventh long ball of the game overall and fifth for the Monarchs.
Kansas City opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when Morgan McCullough homered to right-centre field with a runner aboard to give the Monarchs a 2-0 lead.
Max Murphy pulled the Goldeyes within one run in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI single that scored Tyler Hill. In the process, Murphy extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
Winnipeg took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning when Kyle Martin hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season to right field with Murphy on first base.
The Goldeyes’ lead was short-lived however, as Saturday’s hero Casey Gillaspie replied with another two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the inning to give Kansas City a 4-3 advantage.
Winnipeg then crossed the plate five times in the top of the seventh inning. First Logan Hill led off with a blast to left-centre field to tie the game, then Tyler Hill hit a bases-clearing triple to right-centre field that scored Wes Darvill, Dakota Conners, and Sonny Ulliana before himself coming home on a Darren Seferina sacrifice fly to centre field that gave the Goldeyes an 8-4 lead.
Darnell Sweeney hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the same inning to cut the Winnipeg edge to two runs and Gabby Guerrero led off the eighth inning with yet another round-tripper to bring the Monarchs within one at 8-7.
Ramsey Romano (1-0) pitched three innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory for Kansas City. He allowed only two hits. Jose Jose (0-1) surrendered the deciding runs in the ninth inning and was saddled with the loss.
Winnipeg now returns to their temporary home of Jackson, Tennessee where they will begin a three-game series with the Cleburne Railroaders at The Ballpark at Jackson Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. All the action can be heard locally on CJNU 93.7 FM and worldwide at www.cjnu.ca.
The Goldeyes will continue to monitor the reopening of the Canada/U.S. border and assess a potential return to Shaw Park in 2021.
In the coming weeks, Winnipeg Goldeyes staff will contact ticket holders with more information and appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.
