Early Home Runs Power Monarch To 13-3 Win Over Deerfield

Monarch scored all the runs they needed in a district match up against Deerfield in the first inning Monday night. The Knights scored eight runs in the opening frame on the strength of two timely homers, en route to a 13-3 win. David Webb, coming off Tommy John Surgery eleven months ago, improved to 3-0 on the season.

Josh Mila belted a three-run blast to left field to start the scoring for the Knights. Next, Jared Walker doubled to left, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on an error. Monarch proceeded to load the bases for lead-off hitter Kenny Finley, who delivered the knock-out blow, an opposite field grand slam.

“Those home runs were big and obviously the doubles were big,” said Monarch Head Coach Joe Franco. “But overall, the one thing I was most impressed with were the swings my kids were taking off their pitchers…..they executed perfectly.”

Deerfield did attempt to battle back in the third. Chris Jones sliced a home run over the right field fence to cut the lead to 8-1.

In the fourth, Monarch scored again, this time when designated hitter Bobby Jakubek had an infield single, stole second, and came around to score on a pair of wild pitches.

Nick Baker tried to start a Bucks rally in the fourth when he singled up the middle, promptly stole second and third, and scored when the catcher’s throw went off third baseman Michael Stokes’ glove. Deerfield scored one more time in the game when Chris Jones came home on an infield single by Kurt Hardy in the fifth.

Monarch put the game away in the sixth with two unearned runs. Sloppy play was seen throughout as each team committed four errors and eleven of the sixteen runs were unearned. The unearned runs and the lack of focus after building a big lead early was a cause for concern for Franco after the game.

“The thing I was a little disappointed in was that our team relied on the 8-0 lead for a couple of innings,” said Franco. “Instead of putting them away, and we’ve had trouble doing that this year, but overall it was a very good game.”

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