Borglin Smashes Walk-Off Home Run in 11th Inning
Kenosha, Wis. – Alex Borglin drove a monstrous two-run home run beyond the right field fence in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Kingfish a 5-3 walk-off victory over the Kalamazoo Growlers Thursday night at Simmons Field.
The Growlers (16-53) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning. RBI doubles from John Soteropulos and John Ruiz made it 2-0 Kalamazoo. An Alex Gosser sacrifice fly in the eighth inning gave Kalamazoo a 3-0 lead late in the game.
Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth, the Kingfish (47-22) rallied for three runs. Jeremy Vasquez knocked in two runs with an RBI double. A John Brodner RBI base hit brought home Vasquez to make things all squared at three.
The score stayed that way until the 11th inning. With two down, Zach Weigel walked and that set the stage for Borglin. After Weigel stole second base, Borglin homered on a 2-1 pitch to start the celebration. Borglin was mobbed by his teammates and drenched with water as he crossed home plate.
Kingfish pitchers had a total of 13 strikeouts on the night, including eight by the starter E.J. Trapino. The southpaw pitched five innings and a third, limiting Kalamazoo to two runs on five hits. Garrett McKenzie and Brett Shimanvosky both came out of the bullpen to work two and two thirds innings of relief. J.D. Nielsen picked up the win after pitching three scoreless innings.
On the mound for the Growlers, Timothy Cerven was impressive, bringing a shutout into the eighth inning. He finished with a line of seven and a third innings pitched, striking out five while surrendering three runs. Jake Rouse took the loss after giving up the home run to Borglin.
At the plate, the Growlers were led by Jordan Stading and Soteropulos with three hits a piece. Eric Filia continued his hot hitting to spearhead the Kingfish attack, going 3-5 with a run scored. Weigel had four hits and Borglin finished with two hits and two RBIs.
The Kingfish play their final regular season home game of the year Friday, August 7th at 7:05 p.m. After the game, Kozak Orthodontics presents the Invisalign Dig. A coupon will be hidden within the infield and the first person to find the coupon claims the Invisalign prize, a $6,000 value.
The Aurora Health Care alternate jerseys will be up for auction on Friday night. A silent auction for the jerseys will be located next to Fan Services and the auction runs through the seventh inning. CCB Technology Fan Appreciation Night takes place as well with a Kingfish year-end yard sale.
Tickets for the first ever Kingfish home playoff game on August 10th at 7:05 p.m. are on sale now. Do not miss your chance to be a part of Kingfish baseball history. Tickets are available at the Kingfish ticket office powered by Platinum Systems or call 262.653.0900 for more information.
The Kingfish ticket office powered by Platinum Systems is located at 7817 Sheridan Road and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Kingfish ticket office Powered by Platinum systems is open from 8:30am until the end of the game on home game dates. For more information on 7-game packs, season or group tickets, please log on to kingfishbaseball.com or call 262.653.0900.
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The Kenosha Kingfish are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (KAN). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit kingfishbaseball.com.
