Kenosha, Wis. – It was a great show tonight for the 3,000 plus fans at historic Simmons Field. The Kingfish crushed 19 hits, including four home runs, as nine of the ten batters recorded multiple hits while all ten scored a run on the night. The Kingfish flooded the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 21-4, splitting the series in the process.
Kenosha took control of the game early, shelling Wisconsin Rapids starter Justin Schander. Zach Ratcliff hit a two run homer to left right away in the first to give the Kingfish a 2-0 lead. Buddy Reed followed suit in the second, crushing a three run homer to right center and putting King Elvis’ crew up 5-0.
On the evening Kingfish pitching yielded just three hits to the potent Rafters offense. The bullpen trio of Gary McKenzie, Brett Shimanovsky, and Caleb Haley kept the Wisconsin Rapids offense, ranked second in the NWL in runs, to no hits and three strikeouts in four innings of work.
Duffy Dyer’s team grabbed two more runs to their total in the fifth with a CJ Saylor sacrifice fly. A single from Buddy Reed (4-7, 3 R, 5 RBI) pushed across Alex Borglin to bring the score to 8-3. They continued the theme of scoring runs in pairs, pulling ahead 10-3 in the sixth.
The Kingfish officially caught fire in the seventh as they scored 10 runs. It started with a lead-off double from Buddy Reed which was followed by a two run homer from Chris Godinez. The Kingfish kept going and eventually cycled through the line-up to give the team a cozy 20-3 lead. The Rafters struggled all night on the mound, using six pitchers in total.
The final Kenosha run came in the eighth from a Steven Sensley solo home run, the squad’s fourth of the evening. The Kingfish plan for the momentum to carry them over to the weekend as they take on the second place Madison Mallards. Tomorrow night’s matchup is set for 6:05 p.m. with post-game fireworks presented by Miller Lite.
The Kingfish office is located at 7817 Sheridan Road and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. For more information on 7-game packs, season or group tickets, please log on to kingfishbaseball.com or call 262.653.0900.
