Drew Bugner belted a one-out single into the left-field corner in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday, scoring Dylan Bell from second base, and the Hutchinson Monarchs won a thrilling NBC World Series quarterfinal, 2-1, over the Alaska Goldpanners at Wichita State’s Eck Stadium.
The win moved the Monarchs to the semifinals, where they’ll play the Seattle Cheney Studs at 6 p.m. Friday. The Studs beat the Monarchs 9-5 in pool play, and beat the Derby Twins 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
Starting pitcher Ethan Giesbrecht and four relievers combined to give up one run on four hits. Giesbrecht pitched five innings, giving up a run on three hits while striking out four. Aiden Benson, Brady Pacha, Kyle Holzer and Mitchell Johnson each pitched one inning in relief. Johnson was credited with the win.
The Monarchs outhit the Goldpanners 7-4. Jake Gutierrez continued his torrid hitting by going 3 for 5. He is now 12 for 21 in the World Series, a .571 batting average.
The Monarchs trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with two outs. A wild pitch allowed Jaden Gustafson to trot home with the tying run.
The game remained tied going to the bottom of the ninth. Bell led off and was hit by a pitch. Gutierrez then grounded out to third base, and Bell took second. Then, on a 1-2 pitch, Bugner smoked the ball deep into the left-field corner.
