By Sedric Granger

Wisconsin Rapids, WI – The Battle Creek Battle Jacks (21-33, 11-9) fell to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (28-25, 8-10) at Witter Field, 6-2.

Although the Battle Jacks held the Rafters to just one run in eight out of the nine innings, a bad 3rd inning from Battle Creek hindered their chance for victory. Wisconsin Rapids scored five runs on two hits in the third, stringing together competitive at bats that forced Battle Creek into their bullpen earlier than they wanted to.

Offensively, Riley Silva (Nebraska) caused problems for the Rafters’ defense. The speedy outfielder finished the night one-for-two and scored both of the Battle Jacks runs. Silva was a huge threat on the base paths, stealing four bases and scoring on a wild pitch. Silva’s other run came on a nice RBI single from Jake Allgeyer, who hit a baseball right in between the left fielder and shortstop. Aside from that, the Battle Jacks struggled offensively, registering only two runs on four hits and striking out 13 times.

Although Battle Creek yielded five runs in the 3rd inning, the Battle Creek defense had some bright spots. After going through a stretch of committing 12 errors in five games, the Battle Jacks made zero errors in the field. Starting pitcher Gage Smith (Milwaukee Area Tech) faced just one over the minimum through two innings before falling victim to Wisconsin Rapids’ big 3rd inning. In addition, relief pitcher Zach Frasher (St. Peters) only gave up one earned run and struck out three Rafters in three and two thirds innings of work out of the bullpen. Lastly, Dylan Howanitz (West Chester) made his final appearance for the Battle Jacks in 2023, pitching one and two thirds scoreless innings. Howanitz finished with 8 saves and made 25 appearances for the Blue and White this season, which is the most outings of any pitcher in the entire Northwoods League.

With this loss, the Battle Jacks lost some momentum in the playoff race, falling from second place to third place. The Dogs split their road series one game apiece with the Rafters. Despite the setback, Battle Creek is still 3-2 through the first five games of their seven-game road stretch. The Battle Jacks will begin their final leg of the road trip on Saturday against the Green Bay Rockers.

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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.