By Sedric Granger
Kenosha, WI – The Kenosha Kingfish swept the Battle Jacks, taking game one, 7-1, and winning game two, 3-2.
Game One: Kenosha 7, Battle Creek 1
The Battle Jacks once again took on a team on an education day. Generally, whenever there is a morning game in the schedule, there is bound to be a strong atmosphere. However, the 11:30 a.m. morning game provided a great challenge to the Battle Jacks players, especially after playing a 14-inning thriller the prior night.
Kenosha controlled this game from the start. They built up a four-run lead early and did not look back from there.
Battle Creek’s lone run came from Dave Alleva (West Chester) when he scored on a sacrifice fly from Charlie Rhee (San Diego State) in the 8th inning. Other than that, the Kingfish pitching had a perfect day against Battle Creek
Game Two: Kenosha 3, Battle Creek 2
The Blue and White played a much closer game in the night cap of the doubleheader.
The Battle Jacks got some early momentum in the top of the 2nd when Kyle Ratliff (SIUE) drove in Jake Allgeyer (Western Illinois) to give the Battle Jacks a one run advantage. Then, in the top of the 3rd, Allgeyer continued his hot streak by driving in Rhee to give the Battle Jacks the lead, 2-0. Allgeyer went on to finish the day three-for-four at the plate with a run scored, a triple and an RBI.
Kane Elmy (Kellogg CC) got the start and excelled, striking out six and yielding only one run in five innings of work. Even though it was Elmy’s first start of the season, his experience starting at Kellogg Community College helped him out a ton in this outing. He was able to pick up strikeouts with both his breaking pitches and his fastballs. He put the Battle Jacks in a good position to be competitive in this game until the end.
Unfortunately for the dogs, Kenosha got hot in the middle of the game. The Fish plated three runs in the middle portion of the game, giving them a one run advantage going into the 7th. Battle Creek tried to rally late in the game but could not get any further than second base the rest of the way.
The Battle Jacks (8-16) are now down two games to one in the four-game series. Battle Creek will look to finish the series strong against Kenosha (11-13) on Friday.
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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.
