KANSAS CITY, KS— After getting shutout, the Sioux City Explorers (11-7) finally produced big-time offensive numbers, scoring eleven times against the Kansas City Monarchs (12-5), gaining a game in the West Division standings. Torin Montgomery and Henry George each recorded three hits in a 17-hit effort, while Abdiel Layer became the first Sioux City Explorer to rack up four hits in a game. The X’s held on for the 11-8 victory.
The offense for both teams was on display early, but the X’s got the scoring started. Kansas City’s starter Julian Garcia struck out Austin Davis to begin the game, but Henry George hustled into scoring position with a bloop double to center field.
Torin Montgomery, who was slotted third in the batting order for the first time this season, cashed in with a ground rule double, and the X’s took the early 1-0 lead.
Zach Willeman (1-2), who was dueling Garcia for the second time this season, dominated through the first two frames, but in the bottom of the third, Kansas City’s offense answered as Alvaro Gonzalez tied the game with a solo home run.
Kansas City’s Jorge Bonifacio doubled, then Willeman walked Isiah Gilliam and had to face the dangerous Aussie Robbie Glendinning. The slugger made the righty slammed a three-run blast over the Home Run Patio in left field, giving the Monarchs a 4-1 lead.
The X’s offense, which had plated one in the first, awakened in the fifth inning. Kurtis Byrne strolled to the plate just once for his last 15 at-bats and crushed a solo shot deep to the left-center field.
Kansas City struck back to bring the lead back to three runs on Jhailyn Ortiz’s RBI single. The Monarchs held the 5-2 lead heading into the sixth, when Sioux City erupted offensively.
Torin Montgomery led off with his third home run of the year, then Luis Toribio doubled. That was the end of Julian Garcia’s night as he was lifted for Jake Brentz (1-1).
Abdiel Layer smacked an RBI double off the wall, just missing a game-tying home run. Josh Day kept the inning going with an opposite-field single to right field, tying the game at five.
Nick Shumpert struck out for the first out of the inning, but that didn’t slow the X’s down. Hunter McMahon replaced Brentz and immediately allowed a sacrifice fly from Kurtis Byrne, giving the X’s the lead again.
Vooletich scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 7-5 before the Monarchs retired the side. The X’s lead did not come without stress, though.It took three pitchers and a bases-loaded chance for the X’s to get out of the sixth inning. Neither Brendan O’Donnell nor Chase Jessee could work through the frame, but Roy Garcia slammed the door as he struck out Glendinning with the bases juiced, preserving the lead.
Sioux City tacked on a run in the top of the seventh, thanks to Layer’s RBI single, but again, the uneasy feeling returned.
After the seventh-inning stretch, Roy Garcia loaded the bases with two outs, bringing the dangerous Alvaro Gonzalez to the dish. Garcia forced a ground ball to third base and left the bases loaded for the third consecutive inning.
Nate Gercken relieved Garcia and only faced Bonifacio, who singled to open the bottom of the eighth inning. Jaren Jackson superseded Gercken on the bump and recorded two outs before Jailyn Ortiz homered to bring the game within one as the X’s kept the lead 8-7.That would be it for Jackson, and the X’s brought in their seventh pitcher of the night, Felix Cepeda (3). For the second straight inning, the X’s would use three separate pitchers to navigate through the frame.
The Dominican righty forced Jaylyn Williams to ground out to third base, ending the inning.
Sioux City scored three more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, keeping all the pressure on the Monarchs. The Kansas City Monarchs kept the ninth inning interesting.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases with just one out for Kansas City. The flame-throwing Cepeda struck out the vicious bats of Jorge Bonifacio and Isiah Gilliam, representing a tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.Not allowing arguably the power hitting of the Monarchs to beat them, the X’s issued a four-pitch walk, bringing Glendinning, who had already homered earlier in the game, to the plate, this time potentially with the winning run, but Cepeda snuck a 1-2 fastball on the outside corner to strike out the Aussie, securing the win and relaxing the heart rate of the fans throughout Siouxland.
Even with the win, the Explorers walked nine batters and forced Kansas City to leave fifteen men on base throughout the game. Abdiel Layer’s four hits marked the most for a Sioux City Explorer since August 19th of last season. These teams will battle for a series victory in the rubber match tomorrow.
The X’s play one more against the Monarchs on Thursday. Start time is 6:35 p.m. After this series, they return home to take on the Cleburne Railroaders for a three-game 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. More information is available by calling 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.