By Max Gun, Radio Broadcaster

Madison, Wis.– The Battle Creek Bombers used one swing of the bat to beat the Madison Mallards 2-1 Saturday night, winning game one of the series.

It was a pitchers dual between Bombers starter Jordan Knutson (Missouri State) and Mallards starter Nate Hoffmann (Middle Tennessee State).

Hoffmann blinked first in the fifth inning when Steven Wells Jr. (Florida State) hit a one out double down the left field line. Blake Swann (Florida Southern) then struck out, leaving the inning up to Michael Sanderson (Cal Poly Slo) Sanderson hammered a line drive two out two-run home run to left field, giving the Bombers a 2-0 lead. It was Sanderson’s first home run of the season. Six of his seven RBI’s on the season have come in the second half.

The Mallards threatened to come back in the bottom of the fifth against Knutson, when Scott Tyler (Ball State) and Cameron Frost (Washington State), led off the inning with singles. Charlie Cody (Virginia) then walked to load the bases with nobody out. Facing his only real jam of the day, Knutson struck out the next two hitters, and then got Logan Regnier (Central Michigan), who is hitting .331 on the season, to ground out softly to second base to end the threat.

Knutson lasted 7.1 innings, and allowed just three hits and one earned run. He also struck out 11 hitters. Evan Dunn (Pepperdine) came in to get the final two outs in the eighth, and he allowed an inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly. Mason Marshall (BYU) recorded the save for the Bombers despite allowing two hits in the ninth.

Battle Creek is now 16-30 on the season and 3-8 in the second half. The Bombers look to sweep the Mallards in game two of the series on Sunday afternoon. It would be their first series sweep since May. Andrew Mitchell (Auburn) is slated to start the finale in Madison. First pitch is at 5:05 p.m. Eastern Time/4:05 p.m. Central Time in Madison.

The Battle Creek Bombers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). For more information, visit www.battlecreekbombers.com.