FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
by Tyler Bright
Battle Creek, MI – The Battle Jacks (7-5 in second half) swept their doubleheader against the Kenosha Kingfish (3-9 in second half) to catapult themselves into second place in the Great Lakes East.
Battle Creek 10, Kenosha 7
The first game of the Thursday doubleheader was a stellar performance from the home team in the Cereal City.
Taking the mound from starting pitcher Tre Benjamin (Western Illinois). Benjamin had a season-high five strikeouts against the Kingfish while sailing and snatching up the victory with a clear focus “They were big swingers, so all I knew is if I was able to flip some sliders in there, some breakers, I was going to be able to get them to swing through or roll it over.”
The Battle Jacks did get off to a rocky start against Kenosha striking first with two runs. But BC responded with an offensive batting bonanza that included a 4-run inning en route to their 10-7 win. Blake Salamon (Northwood University) was a key contributor for the game going two 2-4 at the plate, 2 RBI, and a Sacrifice Fly.
The Battle Jacks came with a different energy today in the first and it carried over to the next game.
Battle Creek 3, Kenosha 2
The Battle Jacks fought through adversity in a thrilling standoff against the Kingfish that ended in a walk-off double by Jay Adams (Concordia University) in the 10th to cap off an immaculate night of baseball.
Lukas Brewer took the majority of reps on the mound going 5 innings with 4 strikeouts on the day with Anthony Aloisio (Davenport University) and Jake Jekielek (Northwood University) able to hold off a valiant fight against Kenosha.
Another huge contributor to the offensive production was Kyle Ratliff (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) who ended the second game with 2 RBI performance in the 6th and 10th to keep hope alive in the Cereal City.
The win tonight is not only huge for the team, but it is also a significant for the community to watch Fans Best Friend take home the win and to give Battle Creek a 2-1 lead in the series going into Friday’s finale. The Battle Jacks look to keep the Kingfish at bay and solidify themselves in the upper half of the division for the 2nd half.
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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.
