Monarchs’ Return Home Spoiled by Leprechauns
Although the Monarchs went just 1-3 on their road trip, there were signs of life for the Monarchs as their bats started to come to life playing away from home. Coach Jim Desana knew that would have to continue for his team to come away with a win on Thursday night.
Just as soon as the bats heated up, they cooled right back down against their in-state foe. The Monarchs could only put together five hits for zero runs on the night, losing the game by a scorer of 5-0.
Monarch’s starting pitcher Tyler Whitbread had a pedestrian outing, going 5 1/3 innings, giving up ten hits and five runs (three earned). The defense behind him wasn’t much better, committing three errors.
On the other hand, Leprechauns’ starting pitcher Brandon Phelps went the distance throwing a complete game shutout. Phelps gave up only five hits and walked just three batters while accumulating six strike outs on the night.
From behind the plate Monarch Ryan Fournier out of Xavier University was the lone standout, going 2-3 and earning himself a walk as well. For the Leprechauns, Outfielder Ty Suntken had a noteworthy game going 3-5 with a triple and scoring one run as well.
The Monarchs fall to 5-12 on the season with the loss, and with the win the Irish Hills Leprechauns creep above .500 with a record of 9-8. The Lake Erie Monarchs host the Leprechauns for game two of the series before hitting the road over the weekend, traveling south to Cincinnati to take on the Steam.
