(Seguin) — The 2023 Texas Collegiate League Champion Seguin River Monsters begin defense of their title tonight.
The Monsters will host the Victoria Generals for their home opener this evening at Smokey Joe Williams Field. Tonight’s game is the first of back-to-back games at Smokey Joe with the Generals and is a rematch of the TCL semifinals won by Seguin last season, two games to one.
Coming off a championship season, River Monster skipper Tony Perez says he has a team more ready to compete in his second year in Seguin.
“This league was new to me last year. I had been up north (in the Great Lakes League) the last five years, but I’m better prepared this year,” Perez said. “We are loaded with numbers whereas last year, we were fighting to find position guys the first couple of weeks. This year we’ve got the numbers to be fully rostered the whole time.”
Back this year for the River Monsters is Navarro High School grad Jaxen Monkerud. Monkerud was the winning pitcher in last year’s championship game, a 3-1 win for Seguin over the Brazos Valley Bombers. Monkerud tossed five shutout innings before giving way to three relievers who kept the Bombers at bay as the Monsters earned their first TCL championship in their second season.
Monkerud called the experience one of the top highlights of his career that he hopes to duplicate.
“It was up there on my athletic accomplishments, for sure,” Monkerud said. “So, starting the championship game and then winning. It was a great experience. So, hopefully we can do it again.”
Joining Monkerud on the pitching staff is fellow Navarro grad Bryce Nall. Nall just finished his freshman year at Lubbock Christian. In 2023, he led the Panthers to a district title in his senior year at Navarro High School. He says he’s looking forward to being back home pitching in front of friends and family.
“Coming back to the community here is so great. There is so much support for this team, especially a team winning a championship,” Nall said. “It’s nice to be able to see a bunch of people that I know in the stands.”
First pitch for tonight’s opener between the River Monsters and Generals is set for 7:05 p.m. at Smokey Joe Williams Field. On Friday, the River Monsters will host the Battle of the Badges Softball Game between the Seguin and New Braunfels Police Departments. The game will be held prior to the River Monsters/Generals game at 6 p.m. Admission to Friday’s game is free.