SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2024
By Austin Thomas
SIOUX CITY SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER
EXPLORERS WIN EXCITING SECOND GAME WITH COMEBACK
KANSAS CITY, Kan. –While the first game didn’t go the way the Sioux City Explorers (35-40) wanted, they took the second of the doubleheader against the Kansas City Monarchs (37-38) Tuesday night to split the evening.
Game 1
The first game ended in a 7-0 Monarchs shutout victory where Kansas City’s Julian Garcia (4-1) went the distance for the win. Sioux City started Iowa State Representative and Explorer J.D. Scholten (4-1) for his sixth start of the season. While the Monarchs stayed hot at the start of the second game, the X’s came back and won 8-7 behind 12 hits.
The Monarchs started the scoring in the bottom of the second when Kansas City’s Herbert Iser led off with a solo shot off Sioux City’s J.D. Scholten, giving the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. KC followed up with another two runs when Lorenzo Cedrola roped a triple off Scholten, bringing the score to 3-0. The Monarchs then capped the frame with Kansas City’s Isiah Gilliam’s hitting an RBI single, making it a 4-0 game.
The Monarchs added another run in the bottom of the fourth when Kansas City’s Gilliam added another RBI single, extending the Monarchs lead to 5-0.
The deficit continued to grow in the bottom of the fifth when Kansas City’s Ross Adolph hit into an RBI fielder’s choice, bringing the score to 6-0. Kansas City’s Cedrola followed with an RBI single, making it a 7-0 game.
The Monarchs’ Julian Garcia diced up the Explorers all game, finishing with a complete game of seven innings, striking out seven and allowing just four hits in a shutout win.
Game 2
The Monarchs kept the offense rolling into the second game with Kansas City’s Gilliam smashing a two-run shot off Sioux City starter Brendan O’Donnell in the bottom of the first before Travis Swaggerty went back-to-back with a solo shot, making it 3-0.
Home runs kept coming for the Monarchs in the bottom of the second when Kansas City’s Hayden Jones led off with a big fly off O’Donnell, extending the Monarchs lead to 4-0.
The Explorers worked one back in the top of the first when Sioux City’s Zac Vooletich came home on an error from Kansas City second baseman Carson Maxwell, making it a 4-1 game.
The Monarchs responded by extending their lead back to four runs in the bottom of the fourth when Kansas City’s Cedrola hit an RBI single off Sioux City’s O’Donnell.
The bats finally woke up for the Explorers in the top of the fifth, starting with an RBI single from Sioux City’s Daniel Lingua off Kansas City’s Zack Leban, cutting the X’s deficit to 5-2. Sioux City’s Montano followed up with an RBI single of his own before Scott Ota brought it to a 5-4 game with an RBI double of Leban. Kansas City then turned to Damon Jones, but the X’s were able to tie it up 5-5 behind Osvaldo Martinez’s RBI single. Sioux City’s Zac Vooletich finished off the scoring in the five-run inning with an RBI single, giving the X’s a 6-5 lead.
The lead didn’t last long with the Monarchs clapping back on a two-RBI single from Kansas City’s Jones off Sioux City reliever Zach Willeman (2-1), reclaiming the lead 7-6.
The Explorers got back in front in the top of the sixth when Sioux City’s Ota nearly went yard, but did enough for an RBI double off Kansas City’s Gabriel Ponce (1-3), knotting it 7-7. Sioux City’s Martinez followed up with his own RBI on a fielder’s choice, giving the X’s an 8-7 advantage.
Kyle Marman relieved Sioux City’s Willeman to start the seventh and despite a one-out walk, he finished things off for the save (13).
The Explorers will wrap up their seven-game road trip with the final game of a four-game series against the Kansas City Monarchs. The first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. For more information or for media requests, please feel free to reach out at 817-739-3693. 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.
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