Article by Nevada Cullen, Photo by Melissa Vozar

MEQUON, WI — The Lakeshore Chinooks have a new owner: Joey Grabanski. The Battle Creek Battle Jacks’ first baseman went 4-for-6 and launched a pair of long balls in Battle Creek’s 15-7 beatdown of Lakeshore on Thursday.

The Battle Jacks struck for two in the first inning. Billy Hancock drove a sacrifice fly to right, and Aaron Dolney laced an RBI single past short in the frame.

Then, Battle Creek poured on five runs in the second. Bobby Nichols delivered with a two-run single before Grabanski crushed a three-run homer off of the scoreboard in left-center field.

Lakeshore got one back in the bottom of the inning. Garrett Martin mashed a leadoff solo shot to left to make it a 7-1 game.

But, the Battle Jacks scored four more on a whopping seven hits in the third. James Canar, Rafael Gomez Jr. and Bobby Nichols provided three straight run-scoring singles.

Nichols drove in his fourth run of the game in the fourth frame. He walked with the bases loaded, extending Battle Creek’s advantage to 12-1.

The Battle Jacks plated a pair in the sixth. Gomez sent a booming ground-rule double to right to score one, and he touched home on a Pat Mills RBI single.

Lakeshore got one back in the bottom of the frame. However, Grabanski answered with an opposite-field solo shot to lead off the seventh for his second dinger of the evening.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Chinooks scored five runs to get back in the ballgame. Tony Livermore cleared the bases with a double into the gap to make it a 15-7 game. But, Battle Creek held Lakeshore scoreless the rest of the way to secure the win and split the series.

The Battle Jacks (16-16) host the Rockford Rivets for two games this weekend. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET.