DERBY, Kan. — The Hutchinson Monarchs (14-4) held off a late rally to edge the Derby Twins 5-4 on Friday night at Panther Field in Derby, thanks to timely hitting and a resilient bullpen effort.
Hutchinson jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first. Joey Senstock delivered a two-run single to right field, plating Blake Bradford and Jeter Worthley to put the Monarchs ahead 2-0.
The Twins responded in the bottom of the second when Griffin Cooley’s aggressive baserunning and a pair of Monarchs errors cut the lead in half. Cooley stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Jeter Worthley, and scored on a miscue in center field by Tyler Mitchell to make it 2-1.
In the fourth, Bradford extended Hutchinson’s lead to 3-1 with a line-drive double to center, scoring Worthley.
Derby clawed back with a run in the fifth off an RBI single from Rolen Driskoll and tied the game in the sixth when Noah Allison launched a solo homer to left field.
The Monarchs regained control in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Mitchell drew a walk to force in Drew Bugner, and Worthley followed with a single to score Senstock, giving Hutchinson a 5-3 cushion.
Derby made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth when Joel Lindahl homered to left, trimming the lead to 5-4, but Hutchinson’s bullpen held on in the ninth to seal the win.
The two teams will meet again Saturday night at Hobart-Detter Field in Hutchinson.