Article by Brendan Nordstrom, Photo by Melissa Vozar

KALAMAZOO, MI — After the Growlers walked away as I-94 cup champions yesterday, Battle Creek (23-26) fought back against Kalamazoo (26-23) in game 2 of the home-and-home series.

The Growlers struck first after Ryan Dykstra and Sam Kirkpatrick hit back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first and notched the first two runs of the game after an E3 off the bat of Alex Calarco.

The Battle Jacks responded in the top of the second when Dillon Kark reached on a hit-by-pitch. Jace Matkin then hit a sharp grounder to second that resulted in an error and BC’s first run.

The runs kept on coming, and so did the errors, as Kalamazoo’s Zach Spradlin reached on an error and Dykstra made BC pay with a 2-run shot to right.

Battle Creek’s third inning mirrored their second with the first batter, Tate Peterson, reaching on a HBP and coming around to score due to another error to make it 4-2 Kalamazoo.

Kalamazoo tacked on two more runs over the next two innings to extend their lead to four. It was the fourth straight inning a run crossed for the Growlers.

With hope drifting, Jace Matkin put a breath of fresh air into the Battle Jacks lineup in the top of the sixth. Joey Grabanski and Isaiah Gibbs both hit singles and Robbie Merced worked a walk to load the bases. Matkin hit a line single into center that turned into, you guessed it, an error that scored three runs and put Jace at third turning the game to a 6-5 contest.

Ryan Dykstra, who was 4/4 up to this point, started Kalamazoo’s half of the inning with a single to center. He would go on to steal second and Anthony Stephan hit a huge RBI triple past a diving Peterson to extend the lead to 7-5.

In the top of the ninth, the Battle Jacks worked some two out magic as there were runners on the corners and two down for Joey Grabanski. Grabanski sent a deep double over the center fielder’s head, scoring two and tying the game at seven. BC was not done yet, however, as Robbie Merced hit a line single to score the leading run.

BC’s closer Anthony Tejeda shut the door on Kalamazoo in their half of the inning as the Battle Jacks split the home-and-home series with an 8-7 victory.

Standouts at the plate for the Battle Jacks include Joey Grabanski, who went 2/5 with a game-tying double and a three RBIs, and Jace Matkin, who went 1/4 with four RBIs.

The Battle Jacks will begin a two-game road trip to Traverse City tomorrow at 7:05 EST at Turtle Creek Stadium.