Hutchinson, Hays to square off in first all-Kansas NBC World Series since 2000
Down to their final three outs, the Hutchinson Monarchs rallied to keep their chances of repeating as champions alive in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
In a Jayhawk Collegiate League rematch, the Monarchs scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to knock out the Kansas Cannons 7-5 at Eck Stadium on Friday evening.
Following the Hays Larks’ 7-3 win over Lonestar Baseball Club in the other semifinal, it will be the first all-Kansas NBC World Series final since the Liberal Bee Jays topped the Hays Larks for the 2000 title.
The Larks have had a tortured history in the final of the NBC World Series, reaching the championship game six times and losing all six times in 1995, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2016 and 2022. Meanwhile, the Monarchs will be looking to become the first Kansas team to repeat as NBC World Series champions since the Wichita Broncos won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.
The championship game is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday at Eck Stadium.
Friday’s semifinal between the Monarchs and Cannons was shaping up to be a pitchers’ duel for the first five innings, as Hutchinson starter Jace Miner, who recently transferred back to Wichita State, and Cannons starter Jakob Holzer, a Oklahoma junior-college pitcher, both kept the opposing offenses off the scoreboard.
Hutchinson struck first in the top of the sixth inning when Camden Johnson, coming off a breakout freshman season at WSU, reached base on a hit by pitch, swiped second, then scored on an RBI single by Will Edmunson. The Monarchs made it three hits in a row, as Sam Wiese followed with an RBI single and Reese Ratchford delivered an RBI double to open up a 3-0 lead.
The Cannons answered back in the bottom-half of the inning, as they capitalized on an error by Hutchinson to plate a runner on a fielder’s choice.
Their breakthrough actually occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Lane Haworth, another budding WSU star, singled to right field to plate another run and chase Miner from the game. The Cannons tacked on three more runs later in the inning, as Gannon Snyder drew a bases-loaded walk and Mike Williamson came through with a two-RBI single to put the Cannons on top 5-3.
WSU outfielder Jaden Gustafson, who is hitting .474 in the tournament, led off the top of the eighth inning with a triple and scored for Hutchinson, which trimmed the deficit to 5-4 entering the ninth inning.
Jarrett Flaggert began the rally with a leadoff single, then advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw. Cooper Wesslund and Brett Smajstrla were both hit by pitches by Cannons reliever Mason Munz, also a current Shocker, to load the bases.
Wearing his Shocker batting helmet, Johnson fought off a breaking ball inside on a full-count pitch and blooped a single into left field to score the game-tying and go-ahead runs. After the Cannons recorded two straight outs, the Monarchs tacked on one more run with an RBI single by Sam Wiese to extend the lead to 7-5.
Former Hutchinson Community College pitcher Reed Scott, now with Omaha, closed out the game in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Monarchs without much trouble.
In the other semifinal, Hays jumped out to a 5-2 lead after the second inning and was never threatened again in a 7-3 victory. Garrett Gruell led Hays with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with a team-high four RBIs and two runs scored, while Kaleb Duncan also added two hits and a pair of RBIs.
This story was originally published August 3, 2024 at 6:02 AM.
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