Joes Couldn't Complete the Comeback, 9-8

The Michigan Monarchs travel to Hamilton, Ohio, to take on the Hamilton Joes in the first of three games in two days. 

The Joes would get on the board first in the bottom of the first with a double steal from Ryder Kirtley and Brady Bowen. Kirtley would come home to score, and Bowen would get to third on a throwing error from second baseman Bret Perry. Bowen would later score on a sacrifice fly from Owen McKoon to give the Joes a 2-0 lead. 

Joes would extend their lead in the bottom of the third with a wild pitch from starting pitcher Jack Murphy, scoring Gavin Brewer. Eric Fleetwould stepped in the box and hit a two-run double down the left field line to score two more, making the score 5-0. 

Starting pitcher for the Joes, Charlie Dieruf, was excellent in his debut, throwing three innings with four strikeouts. Trouble would come after that as Carter Sellers came into the game and couldn’t find the zone. Sellers was unable to record an out after giving up two runs, and the Joes resorted to the bullpen with Dylan Kaiser coming into the game with the bases loaded. Kaiser would give up back-to-back two-run singles to Bret Parry and Tyler Bruggeman, and the Monarchs would end up scoring seven runs to take the lead 7-5. 

Monarchs would add to their lead in the fifth and ninth to lead 9-5. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Joes would get their first three batters aboard and knock in a run with a Gavin Brewer single to give the Joes life. Noah Kubasky would keep the inning alive with a two-run double to bring the Joes within one. After that, Andrew Huxman shut down the rally by striking out three during the inning to end the game. 

Joes will still have an opportunity to win the series tomorrow with a double header against the Monarchs. The first game will start at 4:35 pm at Foundation Field, and game two will start with an estimated time of 6:35 pm.