By Sedric Granger

Battle Creek, MI – The Kalamazoo Growlers (40-20, 18-7) rolled the Battle Creek Battle Jacks (23-39, 13-15), 12-3. 

The Growlers have now won six straight games in the season-long I-94 Rivalry series, including three series sweeps in a row.

The game was a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings. Starting pitcher Jared Schwartz (Davenport) gave four and two-thirds innings of work on the mound with five strikeouts, holding the Growlers to just one run through the first four innings. To put that in perspective, Kalamazoo had seven runs through four innings in game one of the series. 

Unfortunately for the Dogs, Kalamazoo took over the game from the 5th inning onwards. On the day, the Growlers plated 12 unanswered runs on a total of 13 base hits, including two innings of at least five runs scored. Going into the bottom of the 9th inning, Kalamazoo had complete control of the game, 12-0.

On the bright side, the Battle Jacks finished the game strong. Battle Creek totaled three runs and five hits in the 9th. Kyle Ratliff drilled an RBI single scoring Jt Sokolove (Illinois St). A few moments later, Spencer Verburg (Central Michigan) drove in Jake Allgeyer (Southern Illinois) and Ratliff to tack on two more for the Blue and White. 

Although the Battle Jacks went on to lose, 12-3, the heart shown by this team in the 9th inning could prove pivotal for building momentum into the next game. The Battle Jacks start a four-game road trip with a matchup against Kenosha on Thursday.

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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.