By: Noah Chavez
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – With the Royal Oak Leprechauns entering Sunday on a four-game losing streak, a seven-run second inning guided them back on track in an 11-6 win over the Kenosha Kingfish in the series finale.
Having come into the series on a six-game winning streak, Kenosha rallied from behind on Saturday’s series opener and scored all of its runs in the final two innings to grab the 3-1 win in the opener.
To start the game, Leprechauns right-hander Jake Rifenburg pitched excellently, tossing six scoreless innings and only allowing two hits to match Kenosha starter Jackson Sobel in the low-scoring affair.
Overall, the Royal Oak offense was relatively quiet all night, but outfielder Michael Zielinski provided a pair of hits. Additionally, Aidan Schuck contributed both offensively and defensively, providing a single as well as an outfield assist to cut down a Kingfish runner at home plate in the eighth inning.
Sunday’s Fresh Start
In Sunday’s game, the offense for the Leprechauns was anything but quiet, scoring early and often. After putting up four runs in the opening inning, Royal Oak tallied seven in the second inning and cruised to an 11-6 victory for their first win in six days.
In the opening frame, the Leprechauns trailed by a run before their first at-bats, but a Carson Raether RBI-walk with the bases loaded would even the score at 1-1. On the ensuing batter, Mateo Noto would get his biggest hit of the season, clearing the bases with an opposite-field triple and making it 4-1.
One inning later, the barrage of runs would continue for the home side, with run-scoring hits from Oliver Service and Cash Van Ameyde contributing to the efforts. The biggest swing, however, came from Luke Kosko, who slugged his team-leading fifth home run of the season to drive three runs.
Although Kenosha would score runs and attempt to rally in both the eighth and ninth innings, Royal Oak relievers Sawyer Cooney and Erich Daigle would keep the Leprechauns in front as they held on for the five-run win. The win now gets Royal Oak back to .500 at 10-10, just one game back of a trio of teams who sit atop the Great Lakes East.
As the Leprechauns’ homestand continues, the Rockford Rivets will travel to The Lucky Corner for a two-game set to start the new week. First pitches on Monday and Tuesday will both be at 6:35 p.m. ET.
Tickets can be purchased on the team’s website or at the gate. Fans can also follow the team across all social platforms to stay up to date.
