Renegades carry no-hitter into ninth, beat KC Monarchs 7-0

Renegades pitcher Noah Skaggs delivers to the plate during Tuesday night's game against the Kansas City Monarchs during a non-MINK League game at Vivion Field.
Renegades pitcher Noah Skaggs delivers to the plate during Tuesday night's game against the Kansas City Monarchs during a non-MINK League game at Vivion Field.

Noah Skaggs knew exactly one of his teammates heading into his debut Tuesday night with the Jefferson City Renegades.

They all know him now.

Skaggs threw five hitless innings as he combined with three relievers on a one-hitter as the Renegades blanked the Kansas City Monarchs 7-0 in an exhibition game at Vivion Field.

"I really like this team, it seems like we can win a lot of ballgames," Skaggs said.

Skaggs, who pitched out of the bullpen with Renegades teammate Jake Voss at Jefferson College this season, walked two and struck out one in his debut. He retired the first 13 Monarchs he faced before giving up back-to-back walks in the top of the fifth inning. He got out of the jam with a force play and a flyout to end his night.

"I was using a little bit of everything," Skaggs said. "I had trouble getting my slider over, but my curveball and my knuckleball were working."

Skaggs wanted to go a little longer, but agreed it was probably time for him to sit.

"I haven't done much this summer, this is the first time I've pitched live since the season and I didn't want to stretch it out too far," he said.

Skaggs, who pitched just 12 innings in relief this season in college, received a text last week to see if he was available to play for the Renegades.

"I jumped on it, started preparing and it worked out tonight," Skaggs said.

The Renegades are glad to have him.

"He didn't get a ton of innings this season, they have a really good staff," Renegades manager Mike DeMilia said. "He just needs to throw more."

Austin Sachse walked one and struck out two in the sixth inning for the Renegades. Ethan O'Keefe allowed a walk, but got a double play to face just three batters in the seventh. Kolton Clark pitched the final two innings, allowing a two-out single in the top of the ninth.

DeMilia would have liked the get the first no-hitter in the short history of the team. It was the first-ever shutout.

"It is what it is," he said. "There were probably three or four balls hit earlier that could have been hits that we made good plays on."

Skaggs agreed.

"The defense really stood out tonight," he said.

After taking advantage of a Monarchs error to take a 1-0 lead in the first, the Renegades scored two runs in the second on a double by Jordan Smith.

Smith, who played at Rock Bridge, got the start at shortstop and was solid defensively Tuesday night.

"He's young, it will be interesting to see how he handles the pitching at this level," DeMilia said, noting Smith will share time with Avery Jennings at the position after Tanner Weitrich left the team for training at the University of Iowa. "But defensively, he can more than hold his own."

The Renegades increased their lead in the third on RBI singles by Mason Price and Jake Litteken. Ty Roseberry made it 6-0 with an RBI double in the fourth before a bases-loaded grounder by Brandon Beeler closed the scoring in the fifth.

"I really like this team, it seems like we can win a lot of ballgames," Skaggs said.

The Renegades finished with 14 hits against the Monarchs, a member of the Kansas City Amateur Baseball Association that features players as old as their 40s.

"We could have scored a few more runs, but I'll take that many hits," DeMilia said.

The non-MINK League game provided a bit of a mental break for the Renegades.

"I probably should have scheduled games like this earlier," DeMilia said. "The pressure is a little bit off in games like this, it's a chance to just go out and play without the stress of it being a league game and worrying about the standings."

The Renegades (10-12) will host another exhibition game today against the St. Louis Pirates, a traveling team featuring St. Louis-area high school upperclassmen.

"The Pirates always put out 4-5 D-I kids every year," DeMilia said. "They won't roll over for us, I know that."

Game time is 7 p.m.