By John Mesh
Hutchinson Monarchs’ right-hander Carson Umphres pitched a 9-0 three-hit run-rule shutout against the Seattle Blackfins Wednesday in Sweet 16 single elimination game action at the 91st NBC World Series at Wichita State University’s Eck Stadium-Tyler Field.
The Seattle Blackfins’ season ended with an 18-18-2 record.
The Monarchs (30-8) will play the Alaska Goldpanners at 3 p.m. Thursday in the second round of knockout games.
The Goldpanners are one of the four pool play winners that received byes into the second knockout round.
The Seattle Cheney Studs, the defending national champion Hays Larks and the Santa Barbara Foresters also received byes.
Umphres, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound right-hander from Great Bend High School who played for Monarchs’ rival Great Bend Bat Cats this summer, will play baseball for Northeast Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Monarchs got RBI doubles from Jake Gutierrez, Drew Bugner and AJ Mustow to take a 3-0 lead. Gutierrez extended his hitting streak to 13 games and Bugner has an 11-game hitting streak.
In the bottom of the second inning, Hutchinson’s Drew Bugner hit a two-run double and Jaden Gustafson had an RBI groundout to increase the Monarchs’ lead to 6-0. Jake Knox’ bloop double scored Blake Bradford to make the score 7-0.
Tyson Vassart’s two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning scored Bugner and Gutierrez to give the Monarchs a 9-0 lead.
In other single elimination games Wednesday, Lonestar Kraken played TPA Texas, the Junction City Brigade played the Derby Twins and the Lonestar Baseball Club played the San Diego Stars.
The semifinals will take place Friday at Eck Stadium. The championship game is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Equity Bank Park (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in downtown Wichita.
Monarchs to honor Elijah Ming
The Hutchinson Monarchs will retire Elijah Ming’s No. 32 to honor the nine-year Wyandotte County sheriff’s officer who was shot and killed Saturday while responding to a domestic incident.
Ming was 34 years old.
Ming played for the Monarchs in 2011 and played college baseball at Fort Scott Community College, Avila University and Wayne State College.