Jake Stedman Powers Battle Jacks to Second Straight Victory

By Nicholas Giannone | June 2nd, 2026

BATTLE CREEK, MI — The Battle Creek Battle Jacks continued their dominant offence, winning their second consecutive game 8-5 over the Traverse City Pit Spitters on Tuesday.

Traverse City struck first as they took an early lead during the top of the second off Jackson Militello’s home run to begin the inning. 

However, this lead did not last long, as the Battle Jacks came firing back in the bottom of the third as they tied the game at one off of Jake Stedman’s RBI single with two runners on base. 

The fifth inning saw Battle Creek take their first lead of the night, as Jake Stedman’s second RBI of the contest pulled the Battle Jacks ahead. 

The sixth inning saw a combined seven runs between the two teams, with the Pit Spitters scoring three to take a brief 4-2 lead. But the Battle Jacks exploded for offence during the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs. Heading into the seventh inning, the Battle Jacks held onto a 6-4 lead with Jake Stedman adding his third RBI of the night.

The seventh inning saw the Battle Jacks add some insurance runs, scoring two to extend the lead to four.

The Pit Spitters added a run in the ninth to close the lead to three; however, this proved to not be enough as they attempted to mount a comeback.

The Battle Jacks finished the game with ten hits, along with one error. Anthony Sanchez lasted five innings, throwing 96 pitches, while striking out three. Nathan Harb came into relief and pitched two innings, while Payton Pundez came in to close the game.

The Battle Jacks are back in action on Wednesday at 7:05 pm, as they look to close out their series with the Traverse City Pit Spitters with a victory.