KENOSHA, Wis. – The Kenosha Kingfish (10-5) once again rallied in the late innings on Tuesday and defeated the Battle Creek Bombers (10-5) by a score of 4-2 at Historic Simmons Field. The victory moves Kenosha back into a tie with the Bombers for second place in the Northwoods League South Division.
The Kingfish were able to draw first blood in this hectic contest, stringing together back-to-back two-out hits in the first inning with a single by designated hitter Nick Zouras (Illinois State) and an RBI double off the wall in left-center by first baseman Derek Bangert (Bradley). Battle Creek right-hander Trent Johnson (John A. Logan) settled in nicely after that, posting four straight shutout frames to give his team a chance to climb back into things.
The Bombers took that chance to do some damage in the fourth inning, when they dinged up Kingfish reliever Gary Clift Jr. (Youngstown State) for two runs on three hits and a hit-by-pitch, the first earned runs allowed in 9.2 innings pitched for Clift Jr. this season.
Following that, the Bombers offense shot nothing but blanks against the Kingfish bullpen while Kenosha’s bats climbed back on top. The Kingfish tied the game in the sixth inning when Battle Creek botched an intentional walk and threw a wild pitch that allowed Zouras to score from third. They then retook the lead for good in the eighth inning thanks once again to more two-out magic, with Zouras doubling home right fielder Jack Yalowitz (Illinois) and coming around to score again himself on another run-scoring hit by Bangert, providing the final run of the game.
Right-hander Mitch Boyer (Creighton) pitched 2.2 innings in his first start of the summer, holding Battle Creek to no runs on five hits and a walk while striking out one. Justin Hasek (Galveston CC) earned the win on Tuesday with two shutout innings that included a pair of punch-outs, and Alex Manasa (Jackson CC) earned the save with a perfect ninth inning.
Zouras finished 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored in this game, while Bangert went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI’s, extending his team lead in runs driven in to 12.
The Kingfish will go for their second consecutive home sweep of the Bombers on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 7:05p.m. The Kingfish will also welcome the Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team to the ballpark.
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The Kenosha Kingfish are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.kingfishbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Kingfish as your favorite team.
