Goldeyes strike early to complete sweep of Monarchs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2024 (485 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The temperature was not the only thing that was hot Thursday evening for the Winnipeg Goldeyes, with a strong showing of offence leading the Fish to a 6-2 win over the Kansas City Monarchs.

3,888 fans in attendance watched as the Goldeyes put up a nine-hit performance to sweep a three-game series over the reigning American Association Wolff Cup Champs on a warm windy evening at Blue Cross Park.

Similar to game two of the series, which the Goldeyes won 5-4, the Fish did not waste any time getting on the board in the first inning.

A Miles Simington double brought in first baseman Roby Enriquez to get things going. Third baseman Dayson Croes followed him up with a double of his own, bringing in Max Murphy and Simington to give the Fish a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

“I think it helps our pitchers a lot when we score,” said Croes after the game. “Not only runs, but early, it makes it easier for them to settle in and throw more strikes or counter-attacking headers.”

“It’s good to come out and see us score three runs right off the bat,” said manager Logan Watkins. “Gave ourselves a little momentum. It kind of takes the wind out of the sails of the other team when they can’t seem to get anything going offensively and we’re already out in front. As opposed to if we’re not scoring or we’ve only scored one run and they still feel like they’re in the game.”

In the top of the third, the Monarchs came within one off the bat of right fielder Ross Adolph, who sent a two-run home run over the left-field fence.

The Goldeyes responded quickly, continuing the trend of scoring doubles. Jake McMurray’s double which brought in Croes was followed by a Kevin Garcia double in a similar fashion to right field, sending McMurray home to extend the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

“I just try to keep things simple,” said Croes, who is hitting at a team-leading .327. “Whenever there’s a job for me to do, like runners in a scoring position with less than two outs, just try to keep everything simple and try to do the job for my team.”

To top things off, Enriquez, after stealing two bases, scored an additional run in the bottom of the seventh.

Monarch’s staring pitcher, right-hander Kevin Milam, allowed eight hits and five runs before being replaced by Gabriel Ponce after four innings.

As usual, the Goldeyes had a strong pitching performance. This time it was left-handed Travis Seabrooke starting with five strikeouts and allowing four hits and two runs in seven innings pitched.

Ryder Yakel took over for Seabrooke for the remainder of the game, keeping things clean and not allowing any runs for the Monarchs who couldn’t complete the comeback.

The Goldeyes improved to 29-26 while the Monarchs fall to 23-29 on the season.

“Keep rolling,” said Watkins looking ahead to their next series. “Don’t do anything different. Just keep rolling.”

The Goldeyes start a six-game road trip against the West Division-leading Sioux Falls Canaries today at 7:05 p.m. Landon Bourassa will start for the Fish.

“Our pitching has been really consistent this year,” said Croes. “So I think if our offence can keep hitting the way we’ve been doing lately, we should be good.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca