The Monarch Knights will square off against the Piper Bengals at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Piper took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Monarch, who comes in off a win.
Monarch is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Blanche Ely with a sharp 19-0 win on Thursday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Knights considering their one-run performance the contest before.
Kyle Jensen made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Monarch got a massive performance out of Robert Brown, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two triples, three runs, and four RBI. Those four RBI gave Brown a new career-high. Van Maxwell was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles.
Monarch always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .679. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Piper was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss. They came up short against Archbishop McCarthy, falling 10-3. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Bengals, who until this match were averaging 3.45 runs allowed.
Piper saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Michael Kanarek, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Kanarek also put up a double, which was his first of the season.
Piper's defeat dropped their record down to 10-9-1. As for Monarch, their record now sits at 7-16.
Monarch couldn't quite get it done against Piper in their previous matchup back in March as they fell 10-5. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
