Walking off Chicago Dogs, Kansas City Monarchs win 3rd championship in past 5 years

The Kansas City Monarchs are American Association champions for the third time in the past half-decade after beating the Chicago Dogs 7-6 on a walk-off line drive Wednesday night at Legends Field.

The Monarchs led the Miles Wolff Finals Game 4 by a score of 6-1 through five innings, but Chicago slowly chipped into that margin.

Brian O’Grady provided the heroics with a shot up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“This team has done such a great job and I just happened to be the guy who was up at that time,” said O’Grady, who was 2 for 5 with two RBIs. “What a way to end it. This place (Kansas City) just let me have fun again and I am so thankful.”

Miller Hogan, an Overland Park native, threw six innings for the Monarchs on Wednesday, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits. He struck out eight.

Monarchs reliever Matt Hartman got the win, throwing a scoreless ninth inning. Chicago reliever Joe Cavallaro took the loss.

This is the Monarchs organization’s fourth championship. They won their first in 2008 as the Kansas City T-Bones and the most recent three — in 2018, 2021 and now 2023 — under manager Joe Calfapietra, who was hired ahead of the 2017 season.

“We have the best players,” Calfapietra said. “We wanted to win the championship, which was a grind. God bless us, God bless you, and we’re gonna party!”

The Monarchs started the scoring in the bottom of the second. Left fielder Jacob Robson smoked an RBI double to make it 1-0. Monarchs shortstop LJ Hatch hit an RBI single, making it 2-0. Hatch would later score on an error from Chicago right fielder Dylan Rosa.

It was 3-0 Monarchs after two innings. But the Dogs got on the board in the third. Payton Eeles’ infield single brought in a run.

O’Grady’s RBI single pushed the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third. Monarchs third baseman Taylor Snyder hit an RBI single of his own to make it 5-1 KC. O’Grady later scored on a ground-out from Robson.

An RBI triple from Dogs center fielder Nick Heath and RBI single by catcher Ryan Lidge made it 6-3. Heath brought in two more runs to make it 6-5 in the seventh, and Chicago tied it in the eighth.

The organization now known as the KC Monarchs was originally founded as the Duluth–Superior Dukes in the Northern League. The organization was later relocated to Kansas City and re-branded as the T-Bones, and played its first home game during the 2003 season.

The club joined the American Association of Professional Baseball following the 2010 season.

In January 2021, the organization partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and changed its name to the Kansas City Monarchs.

Nolan Brooks and Jaxson Webb contributed to this report.