Kingfish put up Late Rally, but Fall to Rivets on Walk-Off

Looking to take the first game of the home and home, Rockford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch to Cam McDonald (Illinois) and a Jared Cushing (Xavier) groundout that scored Wade Elliott (Louisiana Tech).

Rockford added on one more run in the sixth inning to take a 3-0 lead. In the seventh, the Kingfish bats woke up when Kirk Liebert (Kentucky) scored on a Cam Redding (Saint Louis) fielder’s choice. The next batter Casey O’Laughlin (Azusa Pacific) tripled, scoring Justin Janas (Illinois) and Redding to tie the game at three. O’Laughlin then scored on a Luke Stephenson (Xavier) sacrifice fly to give Kenosha the 4-3 lead after seven innings.

In the eighth inning, Rockford would not go away. They added two runs in the eighth after loading the bases with zero outs to take a 5-4 lead.

In the ninth inning needing a big hit, Dustin Crenshaw (Grand Canyon) led off the frame with a triple. The next batter Stephenson hit a rocket through his college teammate Jared Cushing’s (Xavier) legs to score Crenshaw to even the score at 5-5.

In the bottom of the ninth, Rockford had the last rally. Elliott singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. He eventually made his way to third base after a McDonald intentional walk and a Cushing walk. With the bases loaded and one out, Gregory Ziegler (Missouri State) hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Elliott to walk off the Kingfish.

On the mound, Kingfish starter Dalton Wiggins (Marietta) had a no-decision throwing five innings allowing two earned runs with two strikeouts. Randon Dauman (Saint Louis) threw two innings of shutout ball. Brady Kais (Columbus State) pitched the eighth inning conceding two runs. Nick Meyer (Dayton) came on in relief with the bases loaded and no outs allowing one run which was charged to Kais. Ethan Peters (Loras) pitched the ninth and took the loss allowing one run.

Kenosha will take on Rockford at home on Friday, June 11 at 6:05 p.m CDT.

The Kenosha Kingfish are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.

The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.