Wausau, Wis—The Battle Creek Bombers finally put it all together tonight, beating the Wisconsin Woodchucks by a final score of 7-2.

Often times this year, the Bombers would score plenty of runs, but their pithing wasn’t strong enough for them to win and vise versa. They had it all working tonight, however.

Battle Creek led this game from the very first batter and never looked back. Dan Swain (Siena) hit a leadoff solo shot to left field to make it 1-0. Then, Cayce Bredlau (Austin Peay), was hit by a pitch by Woodchucks starter Jared Skolnicki (Kent State) and Bombers catcher Charlie Madden (Mercer) drove him home with a double to make it 2-0.

The Woodchucks got a run back in the second inning on an RBI groundout by Ryan Day (Duke), but that wasn’t enough to sweep the Bombers.

In the third inning, Swain led off with a double. He got to third base on a Bredlau groundout and then slid under a tag at home plate after a Madden groundball to make it 3-0. The Bombers kept scoring in the fourth as Nico Pacheco (Cal State Fullerton) and Christian Helsel (Penn State) both reached on walks, and advanced to second and third, respectively, on a passed ball. They were driven in by Swain, who was 4 for 5 on the night, as he singled back up the middle to make it 5-1.

Dre Gleason (Austin Peay), in his second game back after missing four games with a bruised shoulder, hit a 2-RBI single in the fifth inning to make it 7-1.

Skolnicki was chased after giving up seven earned runs in just 4.1 innings pitched.

Min Hsia (National Taiwan Sports University) started on the mound and pitched six solid innings for the Bombers, allowing just one run on seven hits. He struck out four and didn’t allow a walk. Michael Peterson (Riverside City College) took over for Hsia and pitched two scoreless innings, using a consistent 96 M.P.H. fastball to strike out three. Peterson was drafted today by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17^th round in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.

Kaleb McCurry (Mars Hill University) came in to pitch the ninth, but he was only able to record one out, while giving up a run. He walked one and hit a batter, but it could have been much worse. Ryan Howard (Missouri, and was drafted by the San Fransisco Giants in the 31st round in the Major League Baseball Draft today) hit a deep fly ball that cleared the fence in left field, but it was called foul on a questionable call. Had it been called fair, it would have been a three-run home run to draw the Woodchucks within two runs. Evan Dunn (Pepperdine) came on to get the final two outs while throwing just one pitch, inducing a double play.

The win snaps a two game losing skid for the Bombers. They improve their record to 7-8, while the Wisconsin Woodchucks fall to 5-9.

In addition to Michael Peterson, Bombers reliever Alex Vargas was selected in the 39^th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros.

The Bombers will now head to Wisconsin Rapids to round out their eight-game road trip. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. Central Time.

The Battle Creek Bombers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). For more information, visit www.battlecreekbombers.com.

(Story photo courtesy of Battle Creek Photography and Design – Levi Green)