SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
July 29, 2023
By Austin Thomas
SIOUX CITY REIGNS IN KANSAS CITY IN EXTRAS
EXPLORERS WALK OFF MONARCHS AGAIN
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Sioux City Explorers (34-34) defeated the Kansas City Monarchs (37-29) 5-4 in the 11th inning Saturday night, thanks to Miguel Sierra’s walk-off hit. The Explorers have now won back-to-back nights in walk-off fashion after Sioux City’s Matt Lloyd scored on a Kansas City error last night. The X’s get back to .500 following the win after a brief drop below during a six-game skid.
The game started on the right foot for the Explorers when in the second inning, Sioux City’s Sierra and Jake Ortega both crossed the plate on a Daniel Perez three-run bomb off Monarchs starter Cody Deason, giving the X’s a 3-0 lead early on.
The game slowed for several innings, but Kansas City bats fired up in the sixth inning when Monarchs Justin Wylie went home on a Chris Herrmann double off Explorers starter Solomon Bates, making it a 3-1 game. Kansas City cut the lead to one later in the inning when Monarchs Herrmann scored on a Brian O’Grady sac fly, making it 3-2.
Kansas City tied it up in the seventh inning when LJ Hatch crossed the plate on a Justin Wylie sac fly off Sioux City reliever Carlos Diaz, knotting it 3-3.
The game remained tied into the 11th inning until Kansas City’s Hatch knocked an RBI single off X’s closer Sean Rackoski (5-4), in his third inning of work, giving the Monarchs the 4-3 lead.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Explorers Sierra blasted a two-RBI single off Kansas City reliever Alex Valdez (0-2) to win the game, beating the league-leading Monarchs for the second night in a row.
The Explorers will wrap up their series with the West Division leading Kansas City Monarchs in the final game of a three game series Sunday night at 4:05 p.m. at Mercy One Field at Lewis and Clark Park. Tickets for the season can be purchased online as XSBaseball.com, in person at the Lewis and Clark Park Box Office or by calling 712-277-WINS. You can catch all the X’s action on aabaseball.tv and on radio at KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM.