KENOSHA, Wis. – Shorstop Ben Troike (Illinois) was the hero on Monday as the Kenosha Kingfish (21-13) clinched a split of a 7-inning doubleheader with the Madison Mallards (19-15) at Historic Simmons Field on Monday with a walk-off 4-3 victory in eight innings in Game Two. The Mallards won the first game 2-1.
Right-hander Quinn Snarskis (St. Joseph’s) began the day on the mound for Kenosha in Game One, and was lights out for most of his outing. He started the day with five no-hit innings, striking out four and walking just one. The Mallards finally got to him in the sixth inning, however, scoring twice on two hits and a hit batter off Snarskis in the frame to provide the only offense they would need to ultimately win the game.
The second game of the day started off with a lot more fireworks, after Madison loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning. Jeffery Mitchell Jr. then scored two on a one-out double, and the Mallards had already matched their offense from their first game.
The Kingfish wasted no time matching Madison’s rally, however, when centerfielder Connor Doyle (University of San Diego) and second baseman Mike Madej (Purdue) began the game with a double and single. First baseman Derek Bangert (Bradley) singled home the Kingfish’s first run, with catcher Nick Zouras hitting a run-scoring groundball to tie things.
The Mallards scored once more in the top of the second, but from there on it was story of missed opportunities for Madison, who stranded a total of 17 batters in eight innings. Kenosha finally tied the game back up with in the sixth when right fielder Chris Botsoe (Iowa Western CC) singled home the pinch-running Korby Batesole (Fresno State) from second.
Kenosha saved their final rally for the bottom of the eighth. Left fielder Coll Stanley (Texas A&M) doubled to open the inning, and reached third when Batesole put down a bunt and reached on an error by the pitcher. The Mallards intentionally walked Botsoe to set up a force at every corner with nobody out, but Troike made them pay with a two-strike single down the left field line to score the winning run.
Madej enjoyed a big day at the plate, hitting a combined 4-for-8 for the day while Bangert went 3-for-6 with a double, hit by pitch and RBI. Stanley chipped in with a 3-for-7 performance.
Kenosha will hit the road for three more games, starting with a fourth straight game against Madison on 5:05p.m. CST. They return home on Friday, when they face Fond du Lac for the first game of a two-game set, when the Kingfish host a Educators Credit Union piggy bank 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.
