The Monarchs fight back in the Legends final

Jhailyn Ortiz. // Courtesy of the monarchs

The KC Monarchs Update is our weekly look at what’s happening with the hometown baseball heroes, both at Legends Field and on the road. Check out their seasonal schedule here.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A big inning flipped the script to keep the Kansas City Monarchs’ playoff hopes alive.

The Monarchs overturned a 3-1 Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks lead with eight straight hits in the fifth inning. Kansas City scored six unanswered runs for a 7-5 win over Fargo-Moorhead on Thursday night.

Isaiah Gilliam, Moisés Gómez and Jhailyn Ortiz hit three straight RBI doubles to give the Monarchs a 5-3 lead.

Nine consecutive Monarchs (44-52) have reached the fifth inning. Justin O’Conner capped off the frame with an RBI single to make it 6-3.

Lefty Matt Hall dominated to open the game. The southpaw struck out seven Fargo-Moorhead batters (52-44) in three innings.

The former major leaguer struck out the team in the third inning, all on offspeed pitches.

“Curveball was going well,” Hall said. “(Catcher Herbert Iser) did a great job keeping the pace going. The defense was great behind me.”

Hall finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Thursday night marked Hall’s sixth 10-hit performance as a Monarch.

“It’s always great to come home,” Hall said. “The fans were amazing.”

RedHawks outfielder Alec Olund hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning. The 394-foot blast to left cut the Monarchs’ lead to 7-5.

Nate Tellier and Gabriel Ponce lost any chance of a late rally. Tellier pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, Ponce retired the ninth to earn his second save as a Monarch.

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The Monarchs close out their regular season in South Dakota against the Sioux Falls Canaries. The four-game series begins at Sioux Falls Stadium Friday night at 7:05 p.m