Down 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth, Winston Welch (Arkansas State) had two on with one out. With one sweet swing of the bat, he put Battle Creek (6-1) one run ahead of the Green Bay Bullfrogs (2-5) to setup the Bombers’ sixth straight win.
Battle Creek found themselves in a hole early. Starter Trent Johnson (John A. Logan) struggled in the second inning, allowing four runs off two hits and an error on the defense. Taylor Horn (Wright State) would come in relief in the third, and off two hits the Bullfrogs added to their lead, making it a 5-1 lead.
No stranger to deficits, the Bombers clawed their way back. Cody Hawken’s (University of Portland) lead-off double got the fourth inning going for Battle Creek. Welch, in his second at-bat of the game, would knock home Hawken and Nick Vasic (McHenry County) to cut the Bombers’ deficit to 5-3.
Despite Horn giving up an insurance run to Green Bay in the second, he threw three consecutive shutout innings only allowing one hit. Horn pitched four innings and fanned five.
The stud pitching from Horn and Andrew Click (Davenport) allowed Battle Creek to gain offensive momentum. A sac fly by J.D. Mundy (Virginia Tech) scored Vasic and trimmed the Bombers’ deficit to just one run in the sixth.
Come the eighth, Welch stepped in and blasted the go-ahead runs to give Battle Creek a 6-5 lead. Zach Helsel (Miami-Dade) closed the door on Green Bay, striking out two of the four batters he faced, for his first save of the year.
The Bombers captured their third come-from-behind victory of the young season, and is tied at a league-best 6-1 record. Battle Creek hosts Green Bay again tomorrow in hopes for their seventh-straight win and third-straight sweep. Christian Griffin (West Alabama) is set to throw the first pitch at C.O. Brown Stadium at 11:05 a.m. tomorrow for Education Day. Coverage will begin on the Bombers Radio Network and on Northwoods League TV with Neil Doyle and Jake Hromada ten minutes prior to first pitch.
Fans can guarantee tickets to the team’s top weekend dates of the season by locking in the Bombers 5-game pack. Five-game packs are $59 and include the best seats at the team’s five best games with all-you-can-eat food and beverages and guaranteed giveaways. Fans can buy online by going to http://northwoodsleague.com/battle-creek-bombers/tickets/5-game-packs/. Fans can also call the team’s front office at (269) 962-0735 or by email tickets@battlecreekbombers.com.
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The Battle Creek Bombers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 160 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.battlecreekbombers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bombers as your favorite team.
