By Sedric Granger

Battle Creek, MI – The Battle Creek Battle Jacks (26-45, 16-21) erased an early deficit to beat the Kokomo Jackrabbits (26-45, 13-24), 7-4.

In the top of the 1st inning, Kokomo took advantage of a pair of big hits and one costly error to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Although the Rabbits had early momentum, Battle Creek turned the tides into their favor in the 2nd inning. Coltrane Rubner (Davenport) kicked off the scoring by roping a two-RBI double to left field to drive in Tyler McKinstry (Davenport) to cut the deficit in half going into the 3rd inning.

Battle Creek surged for their biggest offensive inning in the 3rd frame. First, Spencer Verburg (Central Michigan) drove in Kyle Ratliff (SIUE) on an RBI single. After that, a Jackrabbit throwing error on a Cole Mason (Kellogg Community College) hit scored two more for Battle Creek. To close out the inning, McKinstry delivered a sacrifice bunt up the middle to score Mason. By the time Kokomo retired the side, the Battle Jacks had a 5-2 advantage.

The Blue and White were not done with the offensive fireworks in the 4th inning. With two-outs in the inning, Anthony Aloisio (Davenport) took over the inning by drilling a sliding triple to the right field corner. Aloisio went on to score in the frame, stealing home on an attempted put out at 2nd base. The Battle Jacks went into the halfway point of the game with a 6-2 lead. The senior out of Davenport University was not only terrific at the plate but also on the bump.

“I have not started a game on the mound in a while,” said Aloisio with a smile. To get to do so on this stage was awesome. The guys backed me up and it was overall really fun out there.”

Aloisio made his first start of the season and excelled, striking out three rabbits in four innings of work. The senior utility player showcased just how much of an asset his versatility is to the Battle Jacks.

Relief pitcher Jack Sielatycki (Purdue Northwest) contributed four excellent innings of work out of the bullpen with a trio of strikeouts, earning his first win of the season. Sielatycki used a mixture of his fastball and curveballs to generate outs en route to giving up zero earned runs. Closing pitcher Jaylen Morgan (Southern Wesleyan) continued to grow more comfortable in finishing off games, closing out a Battle Jacks win for the second time in the last four games. 

At one point in the game, the Jackrabbits looked to make a comeback attempt. However, Maccallan Conklin (Illinois State) put the nail in the coffin with a huge play. With the Battle Jacks up by just three runs in the 8th, Conklin, who is normally a relief pitcher, hammered a pinch-hit solo home run to left field on the first pitch of his first Battle Jacks plate appearance.

“I knew it was my last at bat ever,” said Conklin triumphantly after the game. “There was nothing to lose. I saw that baseball hang, and I banged it!”

The play from Conklin ignited not only the entire Battle Jacks dugout but also the 1600 fans in attendance at MCCU Field. With the season winding down, these are the type of moments that players and fans will remember forever. 

With this win, the Battle Jacks officially have won the season series with Kokomo. Through eleven games with each other, Battle Creek has won seven of them. The Dogs go into their final game of 2023 with a chance to both end the season as winners of three of their last five and finish fifth place in the Great Lakes East division. The Battle Jacks will aim to close out the season with a victory on Saturday.  

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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.