By Luke Tanaka and Max Gun, Radio Broadcasters

Battle Creek, Mich. – The Battle Creek Bombers could not recover from four first-inning Lakeshore runs, falling to the Chinooks 4-3. 

Lakeshore did all of their damage in the first frame off of Bombers starter Alden Cartwright (LSU). Lucas Raley (Lake Erie College) singled with one out to get things started. With two out, Doug Krager (Richmond) doubled down the left field line and Bombers outfielder Hank Truluck (Bombers) had trouble fielding it, which allowed Raley to round third and score the first run of the ballgame. Colby Finch (Louisville) followed with a sharp base hit to right field, scoring Krager to make it 2-0 Lakeshore. Anthony Massicci (Canisius College) walked, setting up Cartwright’s LSU teammate Gregg Deichmann (LSU), who hit an opposite field single, scoring both Finch and Massicci, extending the Lakeshore lead to 4-0. 
 
The Bombers cut into the deficit in the fourth inning, when Christian Helsel (Penn State) led off the inning with a solo home run to straight away center field, making it a 4-1 contest. Lakeshore starter Hunter Devall (LSU) appeared to injure his foot on the pitch, and he was immediately removed from the game after the home run.
 
The Bombers inched closer in the seventh inning when they plated two runs, with the help of a few miscues by the Chinooks’ defense. Steven Wells Jr. (Florida State) led off with a walk and Matt Simmons (Gardner-Webb) reached on an error by the third baseman. That brought up the top of the order in Dan Swain (Siena) who reached on a bunt single that allowed Wells Jr. to cross the plate, cutting the deficit to two. Simmons advanced to third base on the play and scored on a wild pitch to bring the Bombers within one run, 4-3.

The Bombers could not scrape out any more runs, as Lakeshore’s Jack Landwehr recorded a two-out save without allowing a base runner. 

Cartwright took the loss, giving up four hits and four runs in his 36-pitch first inning. He was removed from the game due to the Northwoods League pitch count restrictions. If a pitcher throws over 35 pitches in any one inning, he cannot continue pitching. 

The Bombers bullpen was stellar behind Cartwright, as Nick Medeiros (Santa Clara), Griffin Weir (Stanford) and Kaleb McCurry (Mars Hill University) notched eight shutout innings. 

Helsel’s led the Battle Creek offense with his home run to center. The other two hits came from Swain and Simmons. 

Deichmann’s two-run single in the first ended up being the game-winning hit for the Chinooks. Raley continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. 

Lakeshore’s Nick Brown received the win in relief, despite giving up two of the three Bombers runs (one earned) in four innings. Landwehr finished the game with two perfect innings. 

Battle Creek looks to bounce back in game two of the series with the Chinooks tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. It is also Make It Matter Monday. Fans can learn about local charities at the ballpark.

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)