WICHITA, Kan. — The Hutchinson Monarchs' reign as National Baseball Congress World Series champions came to an end Thursday night as the Alaska Goldpanners capitalized on a costly third inning to eliminate the defending champions with a 7-4 victory in the quarterfinals at Eck Stadium.
Alaska collected 12 hits and scored five unearned runs in the pivotal third inning to advance to the tournament semifinals, while the Monarchs were limited to six hits and finished the 2026 season with a 28-11 record.
The Goldpanners broke the game open after JR Bedford reached on a bunt that resulted in an error by Hutchinson starting pitcher Dayton Hicks with one out in the third inning. Braden Oliver followed with a single, and after the Monarchs recorded the second out, Alaska strung together four consecutive hits — three singles and a triple — to build a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Goldpanners added another run in the fourth inning to extend the advantage to 6-0 before Hutchinson answered in the bottom half. Jaden Gustafson reached base and later scored on Brice Wallar's RBI single, cutting the deficit to 6-1.
Alaska pushed its lead to 7-1 before the Monarchs mounted one final rally in the sixth inning. Jackson Schanuel launched a three-run home run to left field, trimming the deficit to 7-4. The blast was Schanuel's 10th of the season, establishing a new Hutchinson single-season home run record.
The Monarchs continued to apply pressure, placing runners on base in each of the final three innings, but the Goldpanners escaped each threat to preserve the victory.
Hicks was charged with the loss after allowing five runs, all unearned, on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Ethan Rogers followed with 3 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Brayden Henry was impressive in relief, tossing three hitless innings while striking out six.
Alaska's offense finished with a 12-6 advantage in hits, overcoming Hutchinson's late comeback attempt to end the Monarchs' title defense.
Despite the defeat, Hutchinson wrapped up another successful campaign. One year after capturing the NBC World Series championship, the Monarchs closed the 2026 season with a 28-11 record and another deep postseason run before falling in the quarterfinals. Hutchinson had reached the finals of the NBC World Series 3 of the past 4 years capturing the title in 2023 and 2025 while being the runner -up in 2024.
Congratulations Monarchs on another outstanding summer.