The long awaited first home win of the year has finally arrived, with the Kokomo Jackrabbits defeating the Royal Oak Leprechauns 11-6 on Sunday. 

Before ending the contest with a five run victory, Kokomo battled in the latter half, scoring nine unanswered runs from the seventh inning on. 

With the Jackrabbits trailing 6-2 following the seventh inning stretch, Royal Oak was in position to hand Kokomo their 5th straight loss. However, the Jackrabbits had other plans, and did what they haven’t done this season; win at home. 

Facing a four-run deficit and with two outs in the seventh inning, JJ Dutton turned on a fastball, launching a two-run homer 375 feet to left-center. However, Kokomo was just getting started.

With Duttons two-run blast cutting the deficit in half, the next at-bat did just the same. The score now 6-4, Jack Anderson stepped up to the plate and sent in back-to-back home runs, this one over the 330 sign in right.

“I just wanted to stay calm and find a pitch I could swing at. The baseball’s been looking like a beach ball for me the past three days. I was just doing my thing, and I’m happy it went out,” outfielder JJ Dutton said.

Dutton, who kickstarted the Jackrabbits’ comeback, went 1-for-3 with 3 RBIs and now holds a season batting average of .375, the best on the team.

After making it a one run deficit, the Jackrabbits had one thing left to do, which was to take the lead. In the eighth, Aiden Berggren came in for Kokomo on the mound, and pitched himself out of a two out jam to hold the line at 6-5. 

In the bottom half of the eighth, Kokomo wasted no time continuing the rally. With two runners on, Jack Dupuis sent a double down the left field line which tied the game at 6-6. Dupuis’ eighth inning double was his second extra base hit of the game, as he finished the contest 2-for-5 with an RBI. 

Then, with the bases loaded in a tie game, JJ Dutton was hit by a pitch, allowing Joey Urban to score from third. Singles from Jack Anderson and Bodee Wright drove in the remaining four runs, making it 11-6. The Jackrabbits had scored nine runs in just two innings.

Sunday’s game was the Jackrabbits best offense game to date, scoring 11 runs on 14 hits, both season highs up to this point. 

Following a 1-10 start to the season, the Kokomo Jackrabbits are in the win column once again, their first win since May 31st against the same Royal Oak squad.

“It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and the crowd brought a ton of energy,” said Jackrabbits manager Johnston Hobbs. “When we tied it up, you could hear the decibels increase, and then it just went from there. I’m just happy to give these guys something they could have fun watching.”

Following Sunday’s 11-6 win, Kokomo improves to 2-10 in the young season. The Jackrabbits will seek their first series win of the season on Monday, June 10th, against the Royal Oak Leprechauns to conclude the two-game series.

 

Article Written by Charlie Huiras