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Monarchs & Knights suffer losses in tournament action Saturday

Jul 8, 2018 | 12:12 PM

SPOKANE, WA – A late comeback attempt fell just short for the Medicine Hat ‘AA’ Moose Monarchs in their fifth game of tournament play in Spokane, Washington this week.

Despite scoring three runs in the sixth inning, the Monarchs suffered a 4-3 loss at the hands of the host Spokane Bandits on Saturday afternoon to drop to a 2-2-1 record on the tournament.

Scoreless into the bottom of the third inning, Spokane scored a pair of runs to lead 2-0 after back-to-back line drives to the outfield.

It was a rough fifth inning for Medicine Hat relief pitcher Zach Stark, who allowed a pair of earned runs from the Bandits after facing just five batters.

Trailing 4-0 entering the sixth inning, the Monarchs got a huge boost at the plate with a line drive from Wyatt Bergen to centre field that scored Will Sharpe and Braydon Pudwell to cut the deficit in half.

Medicine Hat made it a 4-3 contest three batters later, as Spokane made a throwing error on Felix Miller which allowed another Monarchs run to cross home plate.

The Monarchs threatened in the seventh after Jack Suhai was walked, but a double-play and a ground out shortly after gave the Bandits a 4-3 win.

Bergen had the only two RBIs on the afternoon for the Monarchs, while Ashtyn Street was the only Medicine Hat player with a multi-hit game.

Tyran George threw four innings for Medicine Hat, however he was handed the loss with two earned runs given up on three hits.

The Monarchs wind up their tournament in Spokane on Sunday, before returning home to Athletic Park on Tuesday for a double-header against the Billings Royals.

Also in tournament action this weekend are the Medicine Hat ‘A’ K of C Knights, who played a pair of games on Saturday in Kalispell, Montana.

After dropping a 13-6 decision to the Mission Valley Mariners, the Knights suffered a 14-9 loss at the hands of another Alberta team in the Vauxhall Spurs.

Medicine Hat struggled in the first inning against the Spurs, allowing a double from Brett Gray that saw three runs come home to give Vauxhall an early lead.

Gray came around to score himself after a single from Darian Simmons, putting the Spurs ahead 4-0 after the first inning alone.

The Knights trailed by four runs until the bottom of the fourth, when Josh Stark singled to centre field to score a pair of Medicine Hat runners.

Connor Drever added another run with a pop fly, before Brandon Hauck got a hold of a Vauxhall pitch to left field to give Medicine Hat their first lead of the game 5-4.

Vauxhall added three more runs in the fifth to jump back into the lead 7-5, before really turning on the jets in the sixth inning.

The Spurs recorded four RBI singles and a separate ground out to score five runs on the Knights, moving the needle to 13-5 to take complete control.

Medicine Hat added four runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 14-9 game, but the gap was too much for the Knights as Vauxhall got Reese Whelen to line out to end the contest on Saturday.

Knights starting pitcher Kobe Coderre threw over 100 pitches in the loss, allowing 11 earned runs on 15 hits against.

Hauck had a big night at the plate for Medicine Hat, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a walk to lead his club.

The Knights also finish up their Kalispell tournament on Sunday, with their next home games coming on Thursday night at Athletic Park versus the Lewistown Redbirds.