By Brad Hallier
Cole Toureau pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball in relief, and the Hutchinson Monarchs continued their strong opening to the season Wednesday, as they beat the Junction City Brigade 2-1 at Hobart-Detter Field.
Three Monarchs pitchers combined to limit the Brigade to three hits and zero earned runs. Lachlan Rosser started and pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up a run on one hit, but struggled with command, with four walks. Toureau, the winning pitcher in the Monarchs’ NBC World Series championship win in 2023, pitched through the seventh inning. Aiden Sowers then threw two shutout innings for the save.
The three pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts.
The Monarchs bats had a quiet night, with just four hits but outhitting yet another opponent, but Dylan Bell helped provide enough hitting.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Bell tripled home Jake Knox. Two innings later, Blake Bradford reached on a one-out error, scoring Drew Bugner for the go-ahead run.
Bell added a double and also walked once.
The Monarchs improved to 11-2 and maintained a two-game lead on Great Bend for first place in the Jayhawk Collegiate League. Great Bend has two games in hand.
