Kokomo Explodes in Eighth Frame to Defeat Kenosha

Kokomo, IN – The Kenosha Kingfish fell 12-4 in the series opener to the Kokomo Jackrabbits in a game that was flipped on its head down the stretch.

After seven and a half frames of back-and-forth baseball between Kokomo and Kenosha, the home team rattled off seven runs and batted around the order to give their largest crowd of the season a fireworks show on offense.

North of 2,100 fans looked on as the Jackrabbits snapped their two-game losing skid against a Kingfish squad that was 7-2 in series openers coming into this matchup.

Camden Janik (University of Illinois) continued his tear at the plate since debuting with Kenosha  earlier this week. The backstop tallied a pair of doubles and an RBI in four plate appearances.

Karson Hesser (Northern State) terrorized Kingfish pitchers tonight; the redshirt junior went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double, a run scored and a game-high four RBI for the Jackrabbits.

Eastern Illinois product Colton Coca (0-1) was tagged with the loss in his Kenosha debut. The former Kalamazoo Growler allowed the go-ahead run on two hits while recording a pair of outs. 

Quincy University right-hander Kobe Essien (2-0) got his second victory in a row for Kokomo. Essien gave up just one earned run on five hits while fanning seven hitters in six frames of work.

With the loss, the Kingfish (8-10) now fall into a mathematical tie for fourth place with the Jackrabbits (8-10). 

The two will go at it once more tomorrow to finish out Kenosha’s five-game road trip. First pitch will be at 4:05 PM CST.

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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. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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, 300 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 (NYM), 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 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.