By Sedric Granger
Kalamazoo, MI – On day two of the Kalamazoo Mac Daddies and Battle Creek Doughnuts promotions for each team, the Kalamazoo Growlers (19-13) used a five-run 8th inning to beat the Battle Creek Battle Jacks (9-23), 9-7, at Homer Stryker Field.
After losing by 11 runs on the prior night, Battle Creek was determined to give Kalamazoo a dog fight. Although the Battle Jacks were down by a pair of runs from the bottom of the 1st to the top of the 6th, Battle Creek rattled off three 2-run innings in a row.
The Dogs got on the board in the 6th when Blake Salamon (Northwood University) scorched a home run to right field. Kyle Ratliff (SIUE) then tied the game, 2-2, with an RBI double, driving in Fisher Pyatt (Central Arizona College).
After the Kalamazoo Mac Daddies responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 6th inning, the Battle Jacks, who were clad in their doughnut-themed uniforms, answered again in the 7th. Salamon drove in Charlie Rhee (San Diego State) and Nikolas Clark (Davenport Uniform) for his second and third RBIs of the day. For the second time today the Battle Jacks had come back from two runs down to even up the score, 4-4.
In the top of the 8th inning, Battle Creek took their first lead of the game. Brock Daniels (Missouri) continued his trend of hitting doubles by hammering a clutch two-RBI hit to score Spencer Verburg (Central Michigan University) and Rhee. The Battle Jacks fought hard throughout the game, and earned their first lead of the showdown, 6-4.
Unfortunately, disaster struck in the home half of the 8th for Battle Creek. For the second consecutive game and third time in the I-94 Rivalry season series, Kalamazoo plated five-runs in the 8th inning. Although the Battle Jacks tacked on a run in the top of the 9th, Kalamazoo retired the side with the tying run on the base paths, winning game six of the I-94 rivalry, 9-7.
With this loss, the Battle Jacks have now dropped six games in a row. Since the Mac Daddies swept the pair of food fight nights, Battle Creek is down four games to two in the pursuit for the I-94 Rivalry Cup. The Jacks will look to bounce back against the Rockford Rivets (19-13) on Sunday.
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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.
