The Fourth of July celebration came early this summer, as the Jackrabbits hosted their first fireworks night of the season at Kokomo Municipal Stadium, welcoming their largest crowd of the summer.

With a three-game winning streak on the line, Kokomo may have just turned a corner halfway through the season, holding off the Kenosha Kingfish 3-2 on Friday night.

Kokomo starter Payton Graham was unbelievable, pitching eight innings of scoreless baseball and striking out twelve batters while allowing just one earned run. Graham’s fastball was consistently clocked at 98 miles per hour, blazing through Kenosha’s batting order inning after inning.

“You can tell we’re starting to turn the corner as a team, as a pitching staff, and in the box. It’s all coming together here,” Kokomo starting pitcher Payton Graham said. “It’s always great to get out in front of a big crowd; it brings a lot of emotion and energy out of you.”

Graham started out scorching hot, striking out two batters in the first inning and striking out the side in the third. Friday’s pitching performance was the best of the season for any Jackrabbit and arguably one of the best performances in Jackrabbit history.

Payton Graham’s 12 strikeouts are tied for the third most in franchise history and are the most by any pitcher since joining the Northwoods League in 2019.

While Graham pitched eight straight scoreless innings, the ninth inning got interesting. He walked the first two batters in the ninth and was pulled from the game with the tying run at the plate for Kenosha.

Kokomo’s Dolan Ramsey came in to shut the door on Kenosha. However, on a 1-1 count, Kenosha’s Collin Schuchart hit an RBI single to the wall in left field, making the score 3-1 with runners on first and second and no outs.

In the following at-bat, Noah Jouras flew out to right, giving Kokomo some breathing room with one out. An Eli Duncan groundout to the pitcher advanced runners to second and third but gave Kokomo two outs. Then, Brandon Nigh sent an RBI single into left, bringing the score to 3-2 with runners on the corners.

With Kenosha down to their last out and the tying run 90 feet away, the Jackrabbits’ defense was determined not to let their lead go to waste.

Kenosha’s Michael Perazza sent a ground ball to the right of first baseman Jace Phelan. Perazza had a real chance of beating Phelan to the bag, which would have tied the game. Instead, Phelan made a diving effort with the ball in his glove to the bag, beating Perazza by just one stride.

Phelan’s diving effort at first sealed the victory for Kokomo and silenced Kenosha’s comeback efforts.

“It’s not so much a mindset thing as it is maybe these things we’ve talked about are finally sinking in,” Jackrabbits Manager Johnston Hobbs said. “Maybe the culture and the structure are starting to take hold, so I certainly hope so, and I’m cautiously optimistic.”

The Jackrabbits’ pitching gem from Payton Graham willed them to their third straight win, and they will look for their fourth straight on Sunday against the same Kenosha Kingfish.