KANSAS CITY, Kan—The Kansas City Monarchs (33-20) edged out the Sioux City Explorers (34-21) in a tense 6-4 victory, capitalizing on a costly seventh-inning miscue to break a tie and seize control. With both teams battling for the top spot in the West Division, Kansas City’s opportunistic play proved the difference in a game full of momentum swings.
Peniel Otaño battled through the first inning against the Monarchs. With two outs and a man on third, he worked the count full on Jorge Bonifacio, but he launched the payoff pitch over the 18-foot-high wall in left field, and Kansas City’s offense had spoken first.
After three scoreless frames, the X’s finally got to starter Ashton Goudeau, and it was the All-Stars getting the job done. Henry George walked and bolted for second a few pitches later, sliding in under the tag. Zac Vooletich, last night’s hero, served a single into right field, knocking in George to cut Kansas City’s lead in half.
The following inning, Abdiel Layer tied the game with an RBI single to center field, and Austin Davis provided the Explorers their first lead with a sacrifice fly to right field. The X’s didn’t hold the lead for long as the Monarchs nabbed a run back in the bottom of the frame.
George sparked the offense again in the sixth as he drew his second walk and stole his second base two pitches later. Nick Shumpert ushered him over to third with a grounder to second, and Carlos Castro snagged the lead for Sioux City with a blooper into no man’s land down the right field line.
Robbie Glendinning smoked a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth inning, and that was all Steve Montgomery needed to see. The skipper replaced his Otaño with 32-year-old right-hander Nate Gercken (3-2), who was making his 205th career appearance in an Explorers uniform.
The veteran hurler walked his first batter but induced a 4-6-3 double play to alleviate some stress, but the tying run stood tall at third base. The 1-0 pitch to Jaylyn Williams ricocheted off Castro’s foot, bounding away and providing Glendinning the perfect opportunity to break for the plate and tie the game at four.
25-year-old righty Junior Cerda (2-1) took over for Goudeau in the seventh as the night turned into a bullpen game. He retired the side on 12 pitches. Gercken wasn’t as fortunate in the bottom of the frame.
With two on and two out, Ross Adolph rolled a routine grounder to first base. Montgomery fielded it cleanly, but Gercken wasn’t covering first. After a glance toward second, Montgomery underhanded it late to the late-arriving pitcher, who dropped the baseball, allowing Josh Bissonette, who never stopped hustling, to score from second base.
Josh Bortka navigated a scoreless eighth for the Monarchs, stranding the tying run at third. Kansas City added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning before turning to Hunter McMahon to close it out.
The Monarchs held on for dear life in the ninth, but Sioux City went down swinging. With the series knotted and both teams deadlocked atop the West Division, the stage is set for a high-stakes rubber match in the morning.
The Explorers conclude their series against Kansas City on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. The X’s then head to Cleburne to take on the Railroaders for a three-game weekend set. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10-, 15-, and 25-game Flex Packs. For more information, please call the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers’ social media channels and the club’s website, xsbaseball.com, for all our news and updates.