After a heartbreaking ninth-inning collapse the night before, the Jackrabbits responded in dominating fashion, defeating the Battle Creek BattleJacks 8-2 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Kokomo’s Luke Matthews led the offense, going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, recording a double, and stealing a base to cap off his stellar performance. Additionally, the second baseman participated in turning four Jackrabbit double plays, one of which ended the game in the ninth inning.

Kokomo’s four double plays played a significant role in the 8-2 victory, helping the bullpen escape tough jams throughout the middle innings.

“That’s always fun. It really gives the pitchers confidence, and it gives you more confidence when you see the defense making plays like that,” Jackrabbits manager Johnston Hobbs said. “I was very proud of the defense, and like I said, it gives the pitchers more confidence to pitch to contact, which is what we talked about today.”

The offensive attack started in the first inning with back-to-back hits that led to a Vincent Temesvary groundout RBI, scoring Luke Matthews from third. In the following at-bat, a sacrifice fly from J.J. Dutton gave Kokomo an early 2-0 lead, setting the tone from the outset.

In the second inning, Kokomo added another run as Chandler Tuupo scored from third after an errant throw by BattleJack catcher Silar Shaffer, who was attempting to catch Luke Matthews stealing second.

Leading 4-1 entering the seventh, Kokomo was in a position to shut the door on Battle Creek, and they did just that. The Jackrabbits scored four runs in the seventh, starting with Vincent Temesvary scoring on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.

As Battle Creek turned to their bullpen, Kokomo continued to pile on the runs. Ethan Rossi scored on another wild pitch, followed by Jake Lambdin sending an RBI double to right. Another Jackrabbit run made the score 8-1, leaving just two innings to seal the deal.

The glue holding together Kokomo’s lead was the bullpen, as the pitching staff allowed just two earned runs overall.

Aidan Hatcher was credited with the win for Kokomo, pitching three innings of shutout baseball, allowing just two hits along the way. Closer Seth Benes finished the job in the eighth and ninth innings, striking out three and allowing one run.

“As far as Hatcher goes, I’m really, really proud of that kid because he’s struggled a little bit, but he went in today and he was ready,” Hobbs said. “He told me yesterday that he was ready for today, and I felt like he had more confidence.”

The Jackrabbits improved to 12-28 on the season and will aim for a series win over the BattleJacks on Monday, July 8, with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.

 

 

Article written by Charlie Huiras