Former Midland Mustangs and current Midland Monarchs met on the diamond Sunday afternoon for the 1st annual (we hope!) Alumni game. Played under sunny skies at Bill Robertson Field, more than 70 cheering spectators watched 14 members of the current squad face off against nine alumni players plus an alumni coach. The teams battled back and forth throughout the contest, with a total of six lead changes before the game was over.

Keary Austin took the mound for the Monarchs in the first and second, efficiently dispatching the Mustangs 1-2-3 in both innings, thanks to a couple of strike-outs and some stellar defense at second, courtesy of Patrick Nachtsheim.

Jordan Breyer, career innings-pitched leader for the franchise, started the first and after giving up a couple of singles and a hit batter, got out of the inning down by two runs. In the bottom of the second, Jordan matched Keary's 1-2-3 inning, striking out two.

The Alumni team took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third, thanks to a lead-off double by Sam Adams, a single by Braden Frishman, and a right-side groundout by Jordan. The Monarchs put two men on in the bottom of the third, but a groundout back to the mound ended the inning for the boys in red.

In the fourth, Stachys McLoud finished his two innings of work for the Monarchs, notching a 1-2-3 inning with two grounders and an inning-ending strikeout. The boys in red tied the contest in their half of the fourth, thanks to a hit batter, a single by Aidan Bone, and a nice piece of hitting by Bobby Shires, driving in a run with a 6-3 grounder. The Monarchs would likely have taken the lead in the inning, but for a caught-stealing from catcher Chris Fairchild to Dustin Foerderer at third.

With the score knotted at 3-3, the Mustangs brought in two runs in the fifth thanks to consecutive hit batters (Braden Frishman / Owen Hansen), followed by a Jordan Breyer single. Taking a tip from the previous inning, Monarchs pitcher Micah Collins nailed Jordan on a steal attempt at third, leaving the alums up by two when the top of the inning ended. The Monarchs quickly pulled back one of the two runs in their half of the inning, taking advantage of several walks by RP Kyle Breyer (second on the all-time innings-pitched list). 

Midland (the red variety) brought in Tyler Hite in the 6th as their fourth pitcher of the day, and Midland (the white variety) greeted him with a lead-off double by Jake Trana. With two outs, Dusty Foerderer singled sharply to left, bringing home the sixth run of the game for the alumni. Zach Frishman flied out to Gage in deep center to end the inning, the second time in two trips that the new-and-extended outfield fences kept one of his blasts inside the park. 

The Monarchs pulled even in their side of the sixth, thanks to a long triple off the bat of Patrick Nachtsheim, followed later by a bases-loaded walk to Stachys McLoud. 

The seventh started with a 6-6 tie, and ended the same way for the alums, thanks to three strikeouts rung up by Tyler. In typical fashion, Brennan Nelson found a way to get things started for the Monarchs, working Jake Trana for a walk on a 3-1 count. A single and steal by Gage Compton put runners on second and third and the Monarchs could hear the call to victory sounding in their earbuds. Micah Collins, one of the few remaining "bridge" players between the Mustangs and the Monarchs,  got the count full, then slapped a single into left center, scoring Brennan from third with the winning run. Walk-off win for the Monarchs, 7-6.

Additional notes:

Aidan (two-for-two, walk) and Patrick (single, triple, HBP) had multi-hit game... Jake Trana, Sam Adams, Matt Lusby, and Patrick Nachtsheim contributed an extra-base hit for their squad... Tyler Hite picked up the win in relief... There were five hit batters in the game... Gage Compton had two steals... The Monarchs spotted the alumni an advantage, starting each of their at-bats with a 1-1 count...