The Battle Creek Bombers (34-33) took on the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (30-36) for the third time in less than a week on Monday night. The Bombers came into Wisconsin Rapids on a season-best 6-game win streak and had won 8 of their last 9 games.

 

Derek Martin (1-0) got his first start for the Bombers in just his second appearance of the season. He would go up against Winston Allen (0-1) for the Rafters.

 

The Bombers batted first and they made the Rafters pay after Mike Brown reached on an error. Jordan Swiss drove him home on an early sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 Battle Creek. But two outs in the inning is where the Bombers got hot. Caleb Henderson hit a double which was followed by an RBI single by Zach Gartner. Connor Bailey went yard after that for a two-run shot to deep left field. The Bombers lead 4-0 after the top of the first.

 

Derek Martin retired the side with a couple of strikeouts and the Bombers kept their bats hot in the second inning. Drake Osborn hit a leadoff single on the first pitch of the inning and Roman Trujillo followed that up with a walk. Mike Brown made it runners on the corners for the Bombers on a fielder’s choice and Jake Wilson brought Osborn home on an RBI single. Swiss got his second RBI of the game on a double and Henderson scored him in after that with an RBI single. The Bombers held a 7-0 lead after two innings.

 

Martin shutout the Rafters for five innings and did so without allowing a hit. He only walked two batters and struck out seven in his first Battle Creek start. The Bombers added one more run during Martin’s time on the mound in the fourth inning. Wilson hit a single and used a stolen base and a wild pitch to easily score on an RBI single by Henderson. The Bombers lead 8-0 through the fifth.

 

The Bombers scored one more time in the sixth off of a Trujillo double and a Brown single to make it 9-0. The Bombers used five pitchers and held the Rafters hitless until the final two outs of the game when Jake Dunham hit a double for the Rafters.

 

The player of the game for the Bombers is the third baseman Caleb Henderson. He went 4-for-5 at the plate with a double, two RBI’s and a run.

 

The Bombers have now won seven straight games and 9 of their last 10 games as the regular season winds down. The Bombers will have a night off on Tuesday before they finish up their series with the Rafters on Wednesday night.