By Sedric Granger
Kokomo, IN – After a loss to Traverse City on the prior night, the Battle Creek Battle Jacks (13-25) regrouped to sweep the Kokomo Jackrabbits (14-24) at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.
Battle Creek 12, Kokomo 6 (Suspended from June 13th)
This first game started on June 13th but was later suspended due to inclement weather. Only the top of the 1st inning was played on that day, but the Battle Jacks had their best offensive inning of the year, totaling 12 runs on 4 hits.
With the game picking up from where it left off, the Battle Jacks used their early advantage to cruise the rest of the way to victory, 12-6.
This win was the perfect opportunity for some new Battle Jacks pitchers to get reps on the mound. Brandon Markarian (University of Indianapolis) and Zacheriah Frasher (St. Peter’s University) both made their debuts and contributed to the win. Alex Jarrell (Middle Georgia State) earned the win with three and a third innings pitched and two strikeouts.
Battle Creek 2, Kokomo 0 (Final/7)
The Battle Jacks earned their second shutout of the season behind a terrific performance from Jacob Davis (Kalamazoo College).
Davis has been one of the most consistent starters for Battle Creek all season, pitching at least six and a third innings in three out of four of his starts for the dogs. In this matchup, Davis stifled the Jackrabbits en route to a seven-inning complete game shutout where he only yielded two hits all day.
Davis’ performance on the hill as well as a terrific defensive effort by the Battle Jacks allowed the offense ample time to take the lead, and the Battle Jacks offense scored the runs they needed in the 6th inning. Luke Cheng (Illinois State) drove in Spencer Verburg (Central Michigan) on an RBI single to left field to give the Jacks the lead. After that, Blake Salamon (Northwood University) drove in Nikolas Clark (Davenport University) on a sacrifice fly to give Battle Creek some breathing room.
The Battle Jacks would hold on from there and win the seven-inning affair with Kokomo, 2-0, to sweep the first two games of the five-game series.
With this win, the Battle Jacks are now 3-1 in the second half of the season. The Blue and White are just a game out from first place behind the undefeated Rockford Rivets. Battle Creek will look to stay in pursuit of the top spot when they face Kokomo on Friday.
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The Battle Creek Battle Jacks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th 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 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.battlejacksbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set Battle Creek as your favorite team.
