On Thursday, the Jackrabbits started off on the wrong foot and couldn’t manage to stop the bleeding. Offensively, Kokomo didn’t muster a single run, as they went on to lose 11-0 against the Kenosha Kingfish at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.

Coming fresh off a 4-3 extra innings battle the night before, Kokomo’s offense fell flat on Thursday, totaling just five hits throughout the contest.

The Kingfish set the tone early, taking a 1-0 lead in the second off of a Will Plattner RBI double into left field. As Kenosha’s offense flourished, starting pitcher Eric Orloff kept the Jackrabbits in check, pitching five innings of scoreless baseball while giving up just three hits.

Orloff, who was credited with Thursday’s 11-0 victory, played a large role in keeping Kenosha in command. Orloff did not allow any momentum to shift in Kokomo’s favor, as the Arizona University product won his second game out of three starts.

Backed by great pitching from Orloff, Kenosha’s offense had no trouble tacking on the runs. In the fifth, Kenosha took a 4-0 lead and added four more runs to the board across the sixth and seventh innings.

Leading 6-0 entering the seventh, Kenosha continued to pour it on, as Brandon Nigh connected on a 2-0 fastball over the left field wall for a two-run home run. Nigh, who leads the Kingfish in RBIs this season, extended Kenosha’s lead to 8-0, all but sealing Kokomo’s fate.

To make matters worse, the ninth inning was no walk in the park for Kokomo’s bullpen. Having already opened up with an 8-0 lead, Kenosha barreled up yet another home run, this time a three-run homer off the likes of Nate Mieszkowski.

With no outs and runners on first and second, Mieszkowski delivered the final blow for an already battered Jackrabbits’ pitching staff. Kokomo’s 11-0 loss on Thursday drops their record to 16-36 and 5-12 in the second half of the season.

Both the Jackrabbits and Kingfish will square off in the final game of a two-game series on Friday for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch at KMS. 

Article written by Charlie Huiras