The Battle Creek Bombers salvaged the final game of their five-game road trip by beating the Rockford Rivets 7-3 on Sunday evening.

 

The game was scheduled to start at 1:05 Central Time, but weather in the area delayed the start time by more than three hours. As the game did get going, Rockford drew first blood as they searched for their sixth consecutive victory. Second baseman Josh Dudden singled in the Rockford second, stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and reached on an error from Bombers shortstop Kelby Weyler.

 

From there, though, Bombers starter Walter Talcott settled down to retire six straight Rivets batters. The Bombers offense provided plenty of run support for Talcott thanks to an offensive outburst in the top of the fifth inning. Five straight Bombers batters reached base to begin the frame, as Battle Creek sent all nine batters to the plate in a five-run inning. The inning was highlighted by a 2-RBI single from John Malcom and an RBI double from Collin Clayton, his second two-bagger of the contest.

 

The Bombers’ fifth chased Rockford starter Jordan Nelson from the game, but Battle Creek added two more runs in the sixth off of Rivets reliever Trevin Eubanks. John Malcom had a 2-RBI single to complete his 4-RBI game and extend the lead to 7-1. Rockford would climb back a bit closer in the bottom of the sixth, as three singles plated two Rockford runs to cut the deficit to 7-3.

 

Talcott would remain in the game into the seventh inning, when his pitch count hit the Northwoods League limit. The right-hander gave way to Jordan Rhodes, who had an excellent outing out of the bullpen. Rhodes threw 2.1 innings and gave up one hit and three walks without ceding a run. Rhodes also threw three strikeouts, and closed out the game for Battle Creek.

 

The Bombers return home on Monday for their final home series of the first half, as they host the Traverse City Pit Spitters. Traverse City is looking to close out the first half division championship.

 

The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Currently in its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.