ROCKFORD, Ill. – Colton Johnson (Illinois State) was on the mound for the Kenosha Kingfish (7-10) Friday night when they defeated the Rockford Rivets (11-7) 3-0.
Johnson came into the game with a 1-0 record on the year, getting a no-decision in his last start at Madison. In this start, Johnson found a good rhythm between his fastball and his curveball that led him to a season-high seven strikeouts. Johnson went 7.1 innings only allowing three hits and no walks along the way.
The Kingfish offense came early, with their first three batters being the only three runs to come across the plate. Mike Madej (NW Florida State) walked to lead off and Scott Dubrule (Jacksonville) singled to set up Will Wagner (Liberty). On a full count pitch, Wagner rocketed a low fastball over the center field wall for his first home run with Kenosha.
Pitching and defense took over from that point on. In the bottom of the eighth on a single by outfielder Ryan Cole, the defense helped keep the Rivets scoreless. Cade Cabbiness (Oklahoma State) threw out Pat Loeffler at the plate for the final out of the inning. The Kingfish were helped with a little bit of luck, as Loeffler tripped rounding third on the play. Loeffler decided to try and score still when he got up, and the Cabbiness throw gunned him just in time.
Saturday, the Kingfish travel to Wisconsin Rapids for the first time this season. The Rafters were in Kenosha just earlier this week when the teams split games. First pitch Saturday will be at 6:05 p.m. CT with coverage live on the Kenosha Kingfish Radio Network.
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The Kenosha Kingfish are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.
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