Homers from Kyle West (West Virginia) and Jayson Jones (Arkansas) lead Green Bay to victory Saturday night
Battle Creek, Mich.- The Green Bay Rockers won their sixth straight game Saturday night, as they defeated the Battle Creek Battle Jacks 10-2 at MCCU Field, in what was the first of four meetings between the two teams this season.
Led by 14 hits from the Green Bay offense, the Rockers led from start to finish over the Battle Jacks and picked up their 12th win of the season as a result and will now look to sweep the two-game series on the road Sunday afternoon at Battle Creek.
Green Bay started strong in the top of the first on an RBI single from Jones, giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead after just half an inning of play.
Fellow Razorback Christian Foutch struck out two batters to begin his outing, keeping the Battle Jacks off the board with the Rockers up by one heading into the second inning.
After AJ Anzai (Chapman University) scored on an error to lead off the second, West hit a three-run homer to straightaway center field to extend the Green Bay lead up to five, with that home run being the third one of the season for West in his first 19 games as a Rocker.
A bases-loaded walk drawn by Cuyler Zukowski (Creighton) capped off the five-run inning for the Rockers, as they took a 6-0 lead through two innings of play, following a 1-2-3 bottom of the second from Foutch on the mound.
Battle Creek scored their first run in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch, but the Rockers still found themselves up by five entering the fourth after Foutch allowed only one hit in his first three innings of work.
Following a scoreless top of the fourth for Green Bay, Foutch continued his strong start in the bottom of the fourth himself, keeping the Rockers up by five heading into the fifth at MCCU Field.
The Rockers tacked on a seventh run in the fifth courtesy of a wild pitch that scored Anzai from third, and after a 1-2-3 inning from Jacob Liberta (Hawaii-Hilo) Green Bay went into the sixth with a six-run lead over Battle Creek.
The Battle Jacks cut their deficit in the bottom of the sixth after an RBI single from Charlie Rhee (San Diego State), but the Rockers responded immediately in the seventh with an RBI off the bat of Cooper Kelly (Kansas), and Green Bay still maintained an 8-2 lead through seven innings of play.
Jones hit the second Rockers home run of the night in the top of the eighth, as his solo shot to center gave the Rockers a 9-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Tyler Horvath (Case Western Reserve) threw a scoreless eighth inning for Green Bay, keeping the score at 9-2 going into the ninth, with Green Bay still in search of more runs late.
Kelly delivered a late run for Green Bay in the ninth courtesy of an RBI double which brought home George Wolkow (South Carolina) from third, giving the Rockers their tenth run of the night and bringing their lead to 10-2 with just one-half inning left to play.
Luke Singleton (Cowley Community College) finished the job in the ninth with no runs allowed, sealing the deal for the Rockers, and handing them their sixth straight win Saturday night.
The Rockers and Battle Jacks will square off for the second time in as many days Sunday to complete the two-game series at MCCU Field. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m. CT.
Single game tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office and Team Apparel Fan Shop at Capital Credit Union Park are located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers 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’ 29th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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 300 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 (NYM), 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 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
