KANSAS CITY, Kansas – Ryan Long hit a solo homer and walked twice, but the ‘Dogs were eliminated with an 8-3 loss to the Kansas City Monarchs at Legends Field on Friday night.
The Monarchs (2-0) opened the scoring in the 1st inning on Ryan Grotjohn’s RBI single. Skyler Weber’s throwing error allowed a second run to score and made it 2-0.
Kansas City added to the lead with Darnell Sweeney’s two-run homer to take a 4-0 lead in the 3rd inning.
After the first 11 ‘Dogs were retired by Jalen Miller, Ryan Long got Lincoln (0-2) on the board with a solo homer in the 4th. Jason Rogers extended the inning with a walk and Luke Roskam hit a two-run homer to make it 4-3.
In the bottom of the 4th, Darnell Sweeney hit a grand slam – his second homer of the night – to give Kansas City an 8-3 lead.
Garett Delano allowed four runs on three hits over three innings, and Nick Laio allowed four runs over 2/3rd of an inning.
R.J. Fruere pitched 1 and 1/3rd scoreless innings, while David Zoz, Jonathan Cheshire and Carson Lance each worked a scoreless frame.
The ‘Dogs finished the year 49-51 and earned their first playoff berth since 2017. Kansas City has now won eight consecutive playoff games and advances to the second round to face the winner of the Winnipeg/Fargo-Moorhead series, with a decisive game three scheduled for Saturday.
Stay tuned throughout the offseason of updates regarding the schedule, promotions, and tickets for the upcoming 2023 season!