Northwoods Battle Creek Battle Jacks

Bombers Use the Long Ball to Sweep Loggers

Published on July 29, 2015 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Battle Creek Battle Jacks News Release


La Crosse, Wis. - Two home runs and solid pitching lifted the Battle Creek Bombers to an 8-3 victory in La Crosse Tuesday night.

For Battle Creek (21-39, 8-17 second half), it is their first series sweep since May 31, when they took two from the Kenosha Kingfish. La Crosse (35-26, 16-11 second half) drops into a tie for second place with the Madison Mallards in the Northwoods League South Division second-half standings. 

Dan Swain

The Bombers used the long ball to take a first-inning lead for the second consecutive game. Brennon Lund (BYU) led the game off with a walk and stole second base. He looked to swipe third, but was picked off by the pitcher Billy Clemons (Gateway CC). A couple of pitches later, Dan Swain (Siena) launched his team-leading fifth home run, a solo shot to left field.

The Loggers tied the score in the third when Mason McCoy (Iowa) singled and advanced to second on a pickoff throw that skipped through Dre Gleason's (Austin Peay) legs at first base. Two batters later, McCoy scored easily on a Brock Lundquist (Long Beach State) double down the right-field line.

The Bombers quickly retook the lead with a rally of their own in the fourth. The first five batters to the plate in the inning, Swain, Cayce Bredlau (Autsin Peay), Gary Russo (Miami-Ohio), Gleason, and Lin Li (Taiwan) all singled. Russo and Gleason scored Swain and Bredlau respectively on their base hits, giving the Bombers a 3-1 lead. Christian Helsel (Penn State) reached on a fielder's choice that scored Russo to account for the third run of the inning for Battle Creek.

La Crosse chipped into the lead in the fifth as McCoy made history at Copeland Park. McCoy reached base on a hit by pitch and came around to score on a Jordan Pearce (Nevada) RBI single. With the run scored, McCoy broke the Northwoods League record for most runs scored in a single season with 69.

The Bombers padded their lead with a similar rally in the sixth inning. Gleason led the inning off with a single, and Lin Li doubled to the wall in center, putting two in scoring position for Matt Simmons (Gardner-Webb). Simmons, who struck out with the bases loaded an nobody out in the fourth, made up for his two earlier plate appearances by blasting a towering home run to right field, giving Battle Creek a 7-2 lead.

Medeiros pitched into the seventh inning, but he ran into some trouble. McCoy reached for the third time in the game on a single and Will Savage (Columbia) laid down a bunt that Medeiros fielded, but his throw skipped past Gleason, placing runners on second and third with nobody out. After striking out Lundquist, the Bombers called upon Fred Manke (Minnesota). He walked Jordan Zimmerman (Mesa CC) to load the bases. Then, he forced a tailor-made double play grounded right back to him, but he dropped it, the second error of the inning, allowing a run to score and the Bombers' lead to drop to 8-3. With just one out, Manke escaped further damage with a pop out and a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Manke finished the game for Battle Creek without allowing a hit (one walk, two strikeouts).

Li led the Battle Creek offense with three hits, including two doubles. Gleason also recorded three hits, while Swain and Simmons accounted for four RBIs with their two long balls. Swain reached base in each of his first four at bats, finishing the day 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. Bredlau also recorded two hits and a run scored, while Russo and Helsel added RBIs.

Medeiros was stellar, allowing three runs (one earned), six hits, and two walks in 6 1-3 innings. His only strikeout came to the last batter he faced in the ballgame. Manke entered the game in a jam and allowed an inherited run to score, but none of his own. Manke did not allow a hit in his 2 2-3 innings. The Loggers stranded the bases loaded twice against Bombers pitching (the third against Medeiros and the seventh against Manke).

Clemons started the game for La Crosse, allowing four runs, six hits, and one walk while striking out four in four innings. Michael Echavia (Chabot College) threw two innings and watched four runs cross the plate against him, including Simmons' home run. Jordan Jess (Minnesota) struck out the side in the seventh in relief of Echavia, but did allow an inherited runner to score. He finished his outing with five strikeouts and no runs in two innings. Pearce moved from first base to pitch a scoreless ninth.

McCoy was the man of the hour for La Crosse, reaching base three times and scoring on all three plate appearances. Pearce, Zimmerman, and Lundquist accounted for the three Loggers RBIs in the contest.

The Bombers will take a rare day off tomorrow before traveling to Kalamazoo for a doubleheader against the Growlers. Game times are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. at Homer Stryker Field. With one win, Battle Creek (4-0 vs. Growlers this season) can clinch the I-94 rivalry series.

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Northwoods League Stories from July 29, 2015


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