For a second night in a row, the Hays Larks bats were silent as they fall to the Hutchinson Monarchs 3-1 at the NBC World Series in Wichita. The loss drops the Larks to 34-12 overall and 1-1 in the tournament where they will face the winner of the early Monday morning game between the the San Diego Force and San Diego Stars at 4pm Monday.
The Monarchs took advantage of a walk and two hit batters, scoring two in the third. They took a 3-0 lead in the seventh, scoring on a bases loaded balk from Graylon Brown.
The Larks loaded the bases with one out in both the eighth and the ninth and only mustered the one run on a hit by pitch in the eighth. Jake Placzek struck out and Ty Gilmore grounded to short to end the game.
Kyle Simonds pitched seven shutout innings, striking out six and walking two for his first win of the summer. Junior Mustain pitched the final inning and a third for the save as the Monarchs (25-21) move to 2-0 in the tournament.
Nick Goza takes the loss for the Larks, allowing all three runs, two earned on four hits, striking out a season high six and walking two and hitting two.