KENOSHA, Wis. – The Kenosha Kingfish (28-23, 6-10) fell again at Historic Simmons Field on Sunday by a score of 2-1 to complete a three-game sweep at the hands of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (38-13, 11-4). The loss was Kenosha’s fourth in five games since the All-Star break.
After struggling all day Saturday to string together base hits, the Kingfish were able to hit the ball harder early in Sunday’s game, collecting six hits in the first four innings. Unfortunately for Kenosha, none of those hits were able to score, as Wisconsin Rapids starting pitcher Quinn DiPasquale (Stevens Institute of Technology) was able to spread out the baserunners enough to consistently post zeroes.
As he did that, however, lefty starter Zach Stromberg (Boston College) remained just as dominant in the early going, retiring ten straight batters between the first and fourth innings. The Rafters were finally able to get to him in the fifth inning when second baseman Bryson Stott reached on an error by first baseman Derek Bangert to begin the inning, a play that was followed by a walk and a single that scored the game’s first run.
Shortstop Santino Rivera (Long Beach State) lifted a bases loaded sacrifice fly to right field to score a second run three batters later, and Wisconsin Rapids gained a 2-0 lead.
The Kingfish’s first and only burst of offense in the three-game series came off the bat of Bangert in the bottom of the sixth inning, when the team’s home run leader crushed a solo home run to left center, giving him nine for the season and extending his on-base streak to 48 games.
Kenosha was kept in the game with the help of some dominant relief pitching, with right-hander Nick Long (Florida) shutting down the Rafters’ bats for 3.1 shutout innings, during which he struck out five and threw 36 of his 42 pitches for strikes. Left-hander Ben Lynam (Parkland CC) then chipped in with a 1-2-3 inning of work in the ninth inning.
The Kingfish put the tying run at second with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a walk and hit by pitch that began the frame. Wisconsin Rapids closer Layne Henderson (Azusa Pacific University) settled in after that though, retiring the next three hitters in order to finish things off.
The Kingfish will host the Wisconsin Woodchucks next for two games, starting with a 7:05p.m. start time on Monday. The game will also be the night of the North Shore Bank Hot Dog Hundo, as well as the Brew Pub Pizza sublimated baseball giveaway.
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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.
