Kokomo, IN — The Kalamazoo Growlers (15-16) lit up the scoreboard with a season-high 16 hits to cruise past the host Kokomo Jackrabbits (15-17) by a final score of 10-5 from Kokomo Municipal Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Growlers tally a combined 22 runs on 31 hits to complete the two-game road sweep.
Kokomo drew first blood in the second on a RBI single to go up 1-0. Kalamazoo responded quickly in the third with four runs on four hits to grab a 4-1 advantage. The rally began with a RBI single from Gabe Rivera (Univ. of Miami) followed by a Dakota Kotowski (Missouri State) sacrifice fly and a two-run single by Austin Knight (Tennessee). Knight finished with five hits and five RBIs in the series overall, going 2-for-4 with three knocked in this afternoon.
Kalamazoo added another run in the fourth on a Jimmy Sullivan (Virginia) RBI single to make it 5-1. After the Jackrabbits scored one in the fifth, the Growlers soon pushed across five unanswered tallies from the sixth inning through the eighth to stretch the lead to a commanding 10-2 margin.
The Growlers offensive explosion was highlighted by a Knight RBI single in the seventh, Miko Rodriguez (Texas A&M) scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth after a Shea Kramer (Utah) double and a Rudy Maxwell (Duke) RBI single. Maxwell finished 4-for-5 at the dish, which is the most hits any Growler has notched this season in a single game.
Kalamazoo starting pitcher Michael Dunkelberger (Indiana) earned the win on the mound, improving to 2-1. Dunkelberger went 6 ⅔ strong innings with one earned run allowed on five hits with four strikeouts. Kokomo starter Aaron Husson took the loss, falling to 3-1.
The Kalamazoo Growlers return to Homer Stryker Field tomorrow evening to begin the month of July, opening up a two-game series versus the Kenosha Kingfish. Five of six games for the Growlers this week will be at home. First pitch for tomorrow’s game is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start.
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