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By Max Gun, Radio Broadcaster
Mequon, Wis.– The Battle Creek Bombers stole game one in Lakeshore against the Chinooks on Monday night, scoring four unanswered runs in a come-from-behind effort.
Cayce Bredlau (Austin Peay), laced his team leading seventh triple of the season to score Josh Smith (Grand Valley) for the winning run in the eighth inning.
Fred Manke (2-1) (Minnesota) earned the win for Battle Creek by pitching four scoreless innings in relief.
The Chinooks struck first in the second inning, when Doug Kraeger (Richmond) tagged Bombers spot starter Mitchel Patterson (Spring Arbor) for a solo home run to give Lakeshore a 1-0 lead.
Lakeshore extended their lead by adding two more off of Patterson in the third. Anthony Massici (Canisus College), was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and he promptly stole second base. Lucas Raley (Lake Erie College) then hit a routine ground ball to Bombers second baseman Smith, but it went through Smith’s legs and into left field. That allowed Massici to score from second and give the Chinooks took a 2-0 lead. After advancing on a stolen base and a wild pitch, Raley scored on a sacrifice fly by Colby Finch (Louisville) to give Lakeshore a 3-0 lead after three innings.
But Battle Creek came storming back, scoring their first of four unanswered runs in the fifth. Christian Helsel (Penn State) led off the frame with a walk against Chinooks starter Jon Scriber (Kent State). He stole second base, setting up Lin Li (Taiwan) who swatted an RBI-single to center field to draw the Bombers within 3-1. That put an end to Scriber’s day, who allowed just one earned run in five innings pitched.
Battle Creek scored two more runs in the sixth, this time off of Chinooks reliever Parker Sanburn (Arkansas). Parker struggled with his command all night. He walked Smith and Bredlau (Austin Peay) to start the inning, and Ryan Budnick (Santa Clara) ripped a single to load the bases with nobody out. That set up the hot-hitting Nico Pacheco, who came into play hitting over .400 in his last 10 games. Pacheco grounded into a double play, but Smith came in to score to bring the Bombers within one run, 3-2. Battle Creek caught a break later in the inning, when Sanburn uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Bredlau to come home and tie the game at 3-3.
The Bombers capped off their four-run rally in the eighth inning on Bredlau’s triple, and Chase Tavonatti (Salt Lake CC) shut the door by tossing two scoreless innings.
Patterson pitched three innings in his spot start; he allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits.
Jake Tuttle (2-2) (UW-Milwaukee) was tagged with the loss for the Chinooks, he allowed the Bredlau triple in the eighth.
With the win, Battle Creek improves to 26-41 overall on the season with five games remaining. They have an off day tomorrow due to the Major League Showcase in Madison, where Dan Swain (Siena), Lin Li (National Taiwan Sports University), Nick Medeiros (Santa Clara) and Mason Marshall (BYU) will showcase their skills in front of dozens of MLB scouts. The series with Lakeshore will conclude on Wednesday. First pitch is at 7:35 p.m. EDT.