Candiotti Outduels Deluca In 1-0 Victory
Historic Simmons Field, WI- Old school baseball fans were in for a treat when the Kenosha Kingfish shut out the Kokomo Jackrabbits in a 1-0 pitching battle.
Kenosha’s Clark Candiotti stepped onto the mound for the first time since opening day, and he dominated to become the first Kingfish starter to rack up a win. The Wichita St. commit allowed no runs, two hits, no walks and fanned five batters in 7.0 innings.
Kokomo’s Chaz Deluca picked up the loss in an outing where he lacked command towards the end. Deluca allowed one earned run, two hits, six walks and struck out one in 4.0 innings of work.
The Kingfish registered the game’s lone run in the fourth inning when Antonio Brown walked with the bases loaded and sent Gage Williams home.
Kenosha, while registering just three hits to Kokomo’s two, did not lack in baserunners. The Kingfish reached base on 10 walks and two hit-by-pitches.
In the fifth inning, the Kingfish had a golden opportunity with the bases loaded and nobody out after reliever Wil Stockman walked three consecutive batters. The opportunity was spoiled when Gage Williams lined out to left and James McCoy was thrown out before tagging up on third base before Parker Stinson grounded out to first.
The Jackrabbits’ lone hits came in the form of singles from Bo Yaworski in the third frame and Ethan Hagan in the fourth.
Reed Gannon got a hold in his Kingfish debut after striking out two without allowing any baserunners in the eighth inning.
Grayson Thurman had all 1,895 fans on their feet when he faced a full count with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
With the rainfall intensifying in a high-pressure situation, Thurman made Carlos Hidalgo whiff on a high-heater for his third save to keep the Kingfish undefeated at Historic Simmons Field.
The Kingfish (5-1) will hit the road to take on the Battle Creek Battle Jacks (4-2) on June 5 in a battle between the top two teams in the Great Lakes East division.
The first pitch will be at 3:05 p.m. EST.
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