ROSE HILL, Kan. — Behind a dominant pitching performance and late offensive burst, the Hutchinson Monarchs shut out the Wichita Wildcats 6-0 Thursday night to set the stage for their regular season finale on Friday at Hobart-Detter Field.
Hutchinson's pitching staff was lights out, with starter Pryce Bender tossing seven scoreless innings while striking out 10 and allowing just four hits. Whit Rhodes and Brayden Henry closed the door with a pair of clean relief innings to preserve the shutout.
The Monarchs scratched across their first run in the fifth inning when Keegan Demmer reached on an error, stole two bases, and scored on a strikeout-wild pitch sequence. Hutchinson then broke the game open in the eighth with a five-run outburst, highlighted by a solo home run from Blake Bradford and RBI contributions from Jackson Legg, Joey Senstock, and Dylan Bell. A steal of home by Senstock capped the scoring.
Bradford finished 2-for-5 with a homer and two runs scored. Gutierrez added a hit, was hit by a pitch, and scored twice.
Bender struck out 10 Wildcats across his seven innings of work, while Parker Clubb took the loss for Wichita despite striking out eight through six frames.
The Monarchs will wrap up the regular season Friday night back at Hobart-Detter against these same Wildcats. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will also serve as Reno County Food Bank Night at the ballpark—fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate.
The Monarchs will also host the Jayhawk Collegiate League All-Star Game on Saturday night at Hobart-Detter Field.
Both games will be streamed live on HutchPost.com and MonarchsLive.tv.