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Northwoods Battle Creek Battle Jacks

Kingfish Take Game One Over Battle Jacks 3-2, Win Another Battle Creek-Kenosha Classic

July 12, 2023 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Battle Creek Battle Jacks News Release


Battle Creek, MI - On a rainy evening at MCCU Field, the Kenosha Kingfish (20-23) staved off a pair of furious Battle Creek Battle Jacks (15-29) rallies to secure the road win, 3-2.

This matchup was another game down to the wire. This is the fourth time that a Kenosha-Battle Creek Game has been decided by a deficit of three or less runs this season.

The Battle Jacks pitching was solid in this game. In the 2nd inning, starting pitcher Jared Schwartz (Davenport University) got into some trouble early due to both giving up two earned runs and exceeding the maximum pitch count of 35 per inning. Fortunately, Schwartz was still able to strike out four Kingfish batters at the plate.

Zechariah Frasher (St. Peters University) was phenomenal from the bullpen, fanning two batters in four innings of work. Submarine style pitcher Dylan Howanitz (West Chester) contributed one and two third scoreless innings while Ryan Wilwers (MidAmerica Nazarene) finished off the final one and a third innings with a pair of strikeouts. Overall, the Battle Creek pitching staff held Kenosha to just three runs on seven hits.

The pitching performance was aided by a couple of standout defensive plays. Luke Cheng (Illinois State) made some incredible catches from his shortstop position, including one where he fully extended on a jump to his right to snag a line drive, an amazing diving effort on a pop fly into shallow left center field, and a barehanded play to secure a ground out.

The Jacks defense also had moments of great composure. For example, Jay Adams (Concordia University) initially fumbled a ground ball that was sent his way, but Adams and Anthony Aloisio (Davenport University) stayed calm to complete a 4-3-6 putout of a Kingfish runner that aimed to go from first base to second.

Even though the Battle Creek offense continued to struggle today, the Battle Jacks showed multiple moments where they were at the precipice of an offensive breakthrough. The Jacks totaled four hits on two runs today and could not take advantage of mistakes by Kenosha. The Fish picked off Battle Creek runners on the basepaths on two occasions, halting any potential offensive momentum.

Despite the struggles, the Battle Jacks had the tying run in scoring position in both the 8th and 9th innings. In the 8th, the Battle Jacks struck out and flew out to leave two runners in scoring position. In the 9th, the biggest play of the day for Battle Creek happened. When the Dogs were down to their final strike, Kyle Ratliff (SIUE) belted an RBI double to left center field to drive in Blake Salamon (Northwood University) to get Battle Creek within a single run, 3-2. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, Kenosha secured out number three a few moments later to deliver a heartbreaking defeat to the home team.

With this loss, the Battle Jacks have come upon a rough patch, dropping their last four contests to fall to 5-5 in the second half. Battle Creek is also on a losing skid against Kenosha, dropping four in a row to the Kingfish and five of the seven games in the season series. Despite the setbacks, the Battle Jacks have a big opportunity to get back on track in their doubleheader against Kenosha (3-7 in the 2nd Half) on Thursday.



Northwoods League Stories from July 12, 2023


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