By Sedric Granger

Kalamazoo, MI – The Battle Creek Battle Jacks used a complementary balance of offense and defense to defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers, 5-3, at Homer Stryker Field.

Battle Jacks Field Manager Chris Clark always instructs his guys on the importance of winning the sevens. In a 72 game season, it is important for a team to approach weeks with the goal of earning victories in at least four out of seven games in a given week. 

After having a losing record in their first set of seven, the Jacks were 3-3 going into the final game of the week against the Growlers. When the teams met for the first time in the 2023 season, Kalamazoo swept Battle Creek in a two-game series to get the leg up in the race for the I-94 Rivalry Cup. However, this time around, the Dogs gave their rivals a nice taste of their own medicine.

The winning effort started defensively for Battle Creek. After giving up a total of 18 runs in their first two games against the Growlers, the Battle Jacks held their I-94 Rivals to just six total runs in this series. Jacob Davis (Kalamazoo College) got the start and excelled, pitching seven and one third innings with only one earned run given up and four strikeouts. Avery Mosseau (St. Anselm College) and Dylan Howanitz (West Chester) finished what Davis started by holding the Growlers to just three runs by the end of the game. 

After playing four scoreless innings, the Battle Jacks got on the board in the fifth inning when Fisher Pyatt (Central Arizona College) scored on a throwing error, giving the Dogs a, 1-0, advantage. Then, during the next at bat, Jt Sokolove (Illinois State) drove in Jake Allgeyer (Western Illinois) on an RBI single to double the lead.

In the 8th inning, Pyatt delivered one of the most exciting plays of the season with his home run over the right field wall scoring himself, Brock Daniels (Missouri), and Blake Salamon (Northwood University) to put the game officially out of reach. The complementary offensive and defensive efforts led the Battle Jacks to a, 5-3, victory.

With this win, the Battle Jacks (5-9) have won their second week of the season, going 4-3 over the seven day stretch. In addition, Battle Creek earned their first sweep of the 2023 campaign. The Battle Jacks will look to win three straight games against Kokomo (6-8).

###

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.