By Luke Tanaka, Radio Broadcaster

Madison, Wis. – The Battle Creek Bombers fought back from a late deficit to force extra innings Sunday afternoon, but lost to the Madison Mallards 8-7 on a tenth-inning walk-off home run. The game featured five home runs and two game-tying, ninth-inning rallies. 

Trailing by one in the ninth, the Bombers loaded the bases on a Matt Simmons (Gardner-Webb) walk, a Hank Truluck (Florida State) hit by pitch, and a Brennon Lund (BYU) single. With two outs and two strikes, Cayce Bredlau turned on a fastball and launched it deep into the right field seats, quieting the Duck Pond and putting the Bombers ahead 7-4. 

In the bottom half of the ninth, the Bombers called upon Steven Wells Jr. (Florida State) to close the game. He gave up three hits, a home run to Jonathon Quintana (Barry), a double to Bryce Carter (Stanford), and a single to Charlie Cody (Virginia), without recording an out. Kaleb McCurry replaced Wells Jr. for cleanup duty, but allowed the tying run to come home on a single by Jason Goldstein (Illinois) with two outs. 

After Mike Kaelin (Buffalo) allowed just one hit in a scoreless top of the tenth, J.J. Gould (Jacksonville) sent the Duck Pond into a frenzy with his walk-off home run to left. 

Back before the lights turned on, Madison notched the game’s first run in the second inning. Scott Tyler (Ball State) walked, moved to second when Tony Butler (Madison College) reached on an error, and came around to score on a Carter RBI single. Butler tried to score when Carter found himself caught in a rundown between first and second, but Michael Sanderson (Cal Poly) alertly threw a strike to Niko Pacheco (Cal State Fullerton) at the plate to record the final out of the inning. 

Pacheco then tied the score in the fourth, knocking his first home run of the year over the right-field wall. 

Madison quickly retook the lead in the top half of the fifth, when Carter doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cody to make the score 2-1 Mallards. 

A two-out rally in the seventh put the Bombers on top for the first time in the game. After a Lin Li (Taiwan) single, Simmons doubled Li home to tie the game at two. Then, Simmons dashed home on a wild pitch to give the Bombers a 3-2 lead. 

Again, the Mallards answered a Bombers rally with one of their own. Logan Regnier (Central Michigan) doubled and Jean Ramirez sliced a ball inside the right-field foul pole to put Madison on top again, this time 4-3. 

The teams trading two-run rallies set up the late-inning theatrics. 

Bredlau powered the Battle Creek offense with his grand slam, while also notching a single. Truluck reached base three times with two hits and a hit by pitch. Li also provided two hits of his own, scoring once. Pacheco’s one hit was his game-tying home run in the fourth.

Bombers starter Andrew Mitchell (Auburn) pitched six innings of solid baseball, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six. Fred Manke (Minnesota), pitching against his old team in his home town, threw a scoreless seventh, but did give up Ramirez’ home run in the eighth. McCurry’s line included 1 1-3 innings, while allowing an inherited run in the ninth and the walk-off in the tenth. 

Andrew Beckwith (Coastal Carolina) allowed one run on four hits as the starter for Madison. Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s – CA) allowed the two Bombers runs in the seventh, while Vince Arobio (Pacific) gave up Bredlau’s grand slam. 

Although Carter did not record one of Madison’s three home runs, he did go 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI. The three round trippers came from Ramirez (two RBIs) in the eighth, Quintana in the ninth, and Gould in the tenth (entered the game for Quintana in the top half of the tenth). Cody also had two RBIs, tied with Ramirez for the team lead. 

Tomorrow, the Bombers begin a week filled with games in Michigan. Seven of those games will be played at C.O. Brown Stadium, including game one of tomorrow’s home-and-home doubleheader with the Kalamazoo Growlers. First pitch is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. With a win in the home portion of tomorrow’s doubleheader, Battle Creek can clinch a share of the rivalry series. 

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.

(Story photo courtesy of Battle Creek Photography and Design – Levi Green)