The Kansas City Monarchs are league champions for the fifth time in franchise history, and a Platte County southpaw played a key role in helping them finish the job.
Left-handed pitcher Sawyer Allen helped the Kansas City Monarchs win the American Association title. PHOTO: Allie Brakel
Sawyer Allen, a 2022 graduate of Platte County High School, helped the Monarchs capture the American Association of Professional Baseball’s Miles Wolff Cup after sweeping the Milwaukee Milkmen 3-0 in the championship series.
Allen set the tone for the title in Game 1, taking the mound Sept. 21 in Milwaukee and delivering his best performance of the postseason. The left-hander worked six scoreless innings and struck out five as the Monarchs’ offense provided just enough support. Kansas City scored once in the third inning and again in the sixth to take a 2-0 victory and an early series lead.
The Monarchs needed only two more wins to claim the championship. Three days later, they were celebrating.
Kansas City shut out Milwaukee again in Game 2, winning 4-0, before returning home to Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas, for Game 3. The Monarchs completed the sweep with a 3-1 victory Sept. 24, securing the franchise’s fifth league championship.
While the championship series was decided quickly, the Monarchs’ path to the title was anything but easy.
Kansas City opened the postseason by defeating the Sioux Falls Canaries 2-1 in the division series. That set up a five-game battle with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the division finals.
After taking a 1-0 series lead, the Monarchs turned to Allen for Game 2 in Fargo. He allowed one run over four innings while giving up seven hits and two walks. The Monarchs’ bullpen surrendered four additional runs, resulting in a 5-4 Fargo victory that evened the series.
The Monarchs returned to Kansas City and moved within one victory of the championship series with a 7-3 win in Game 3. Fargo answered with a 6-3 victory in Game 4, forcing a deciding fifth game.
Kansas City appeared to have control of Game 5 after building a 9-2 lead, but the RedHawks refused to go away. Fargo scored four runs in the fifth, another in the seventh and two more on a ninth-inning home run to cut the deficit to 10-9.
After the RedHawks brought the potential tying run to first base, the Monarchs finally ended the back-and-forth series with a force out, advancing to the championship round.
The final series matched the league’s top two regular-season teams. Kansas City won the East Division, while Milwaukee captured the West Division. The Monarchs finished 59-41, narrowly edging the 58-42 Milkmen for the league’s best regular-season record.
In the championship series, Kansas City’s pitching and defense delivered, with Allen helping establish that tone from the start.
Allen joined the Monarchs in July after playing at the University of Central Missouri. He pitched 46.2 regular-season innings, including four starts, striking out 41 batters with a 3.28 ERA and a 4-1 record.
Sawyer Allen pitching for Platte County.
His baseball stardom first appeared at Platte County, where he helped the Pirates win a state championship in 2022 and was named the Class 5 Pitcher of the Year. As a freshman, Allen also helped Platte County finish as the state runner-up. He also lettered in football and soccer.
Allen continued his baseball career at Rockhurst University, where he pitched 71 innings and struck out 68 batters as a freshman. He then spent a season at Johnson County Community College before transferring to UCM.
Over two seasons at Central Missouri, Allen went 15-3. In his final season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound left-hander posted a 2.37 ERA in 16 appearances to earn All-American honors.
Now, Allen has added another championship to his resume, helping the Monarchs capture their third league title since the franchise rebranded from the T-Bones in 2021.