Fireworks night at Kokomo Municipal Stadium is an occurrence that happens five nights out of the season, with Friday’s “Margaritaville” night drawing in nearly 2,000 fans to celebrate Kokomo’s  9-4 victory. 

Jimmy Buffet’s legacy brought a different type of energy into the ballpark, as the Jackrabbits’ remain undefeated on fireworks night this summer.

The star of Friday’s game was none other than Jackrabbit starter Lucas Letsinger. Letsinger went six innings of shutout baseball, striking out five on just a single hit en route to his win. 

Offensively for Kokomo, the Rabbits led 3-0 after three innings, scoring one run each throughout the first three. Cj Difiglia plated Kokomo’s first run on an Aidan Mcaskie RBI groundout to first. The first inning ignited  what would turn into a steady downpour of runs, as Kokomo scored in every inning except the fourth.

Leading 3-0 entering the fifth, Kokomo first baseman Chandler Tuppo blew the door open. With a runner on third and two outs, Tuppo blasted a two-run homer over the right field wall, putting a damper in Royal Oak starter Andrew Abler’s night. Tuppo was Kokomo’s offensive star, as he went 2-for-2 at the plate, recording four RBIs and two walks on Friday. 

The score 5-0 after five, Kokomo did not ease up offensively. Behind the likes of Letsinger, the Jackrabbits gave the home crowd something to party about in just about every inning. 

In the sixth, a sacrifice fly from Joey Cicini scored Michael Flaherty to make it 6-0. In the top of the seventh though, the Leprechauns offense mustered their first runs of the game once Letsinger exited. 

Royal Oak added three runs in the top of the seventh, thanks to back-to-back doubles from George Athanasiadis and Jayden Lopez which made the deficit 6-3. However, Kokomo responded once again, as Kokomo recorded two more insurance runs after the seventh inning stretch, giving them an 8-3 lead. 

One more run from both teams made the final score 9-4, with Kokomo snapping a four game losing skid on Friday. The Jackrabbits’ are now 6-16 in the second half of the season, and 17-40 overall.

The Jackrabbits will now embark on a two-game series on the road against the 23-32 Lakeshore Chinooks this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. 

Article written by Charlie Huiras