Tyler Bright

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The Battle Creek Battle Jacks (17-16) looked to bounce back in the second game of a two-game road trip after losing by a walk-off home run in saturday’s game against the Traverse City Pit Spitters (16-16). BC had lost three games in a row, while the Pit Spitters had won three heading into the Sunday afternoon game.

Kameron Haviland (Benedictine University Mesa) started for the Battle Jacks going up against Carson Fischer (University of Miami) who pitched in his last game for Traverse City.

The Pit Spitters got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Michael Tchavdarov (Davenport University) belted a 2 RBI double into center field to give them the 2-0 lead.

From there on, it was a defensive battle up until the top of the 6th inning. Fischer finished pitching in 7 innings and dealing 7 strikeouts but ultimately surrendered the lead in his final appearance starting in the top of the 6th as Ben Fierenzi (Long Island University) clobbered an RBI double. Cayden Wotipka (USC Upstate) joined the party with a 2-run RBI double to give Battle Creek the 3-2 lead. The offensive bonanza would continue as Alex Fernandes (University of Memphis) got the RBI single.

After a few pitching changes for BC, Micheal Addari (Illinois State University) came to the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning. Spencer Verburg (Central Michigan University) helped out on defense behind the plate at the catcher position throwing over to second to get an out as Ethan Belk (Wofford College) was caught stealing in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Garrett Smith (Montana State Billings) laid out the sacrifice bunt to extend the Battle Jacks lead 6-2 in the 8th.

Wotipka scored again in the 9th inning with an infield single to make it 7-2.

Addari finished with 3 strikeouts on the day and Jacob Brown (College of Charleston) got the save for Battle Creek in a 7-2 victory in front of 4,687 fans.

The Battle Jacks head back home to MCCU Field to take on the Green Bay Rockers at 6:35 EST on the Northwoods League Sports Network

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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. Entering its’ 31^st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. 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 the Rockers as your favorite team.