By Jacob Cotsonika
More pitching woes for the Leprechauns and a great outing from Battle Creek’s bullpen gave the Battle Jacks a 10-4 win on Thursday.
“I think our guys are just getting comfortable throwing to hitters again,” said Leprechauns head coach Jonathan Vance. “A lot of our guys are Division-II guys, guys who maybe didn’t pitch in a regional, or pitch in a postseason or something like that.”
The game was very close for the first five innings. Battle Creek (6-4) held a 5-4 lead after just two innings.
The score held from the third through fifth innings. Battle Creek added three in the sixth and two in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Battle Jack relievers combined for 7.1 shutout innings of work, allowing only three hits against the league’s top offense. The Leprechauns (4-6) plated all four of their runs in the first 1.2 innings against Tanner Douglas.
“[Battle Creek’s bullpen] spun the ball well,” Vance said.
A frantic beginning resulted in each team plating at least two runs in each half of the first two innings. Battle Creek plated three and two in its first two tries, and the Leprechauns had two and two.
Royal Oak scored its first runs on a two-RBI single in the first in Parker Picot’s first at-bat as a Leprechaun. The other runs scored on an error and on a play where Riley Frost took home after Jack Boike was caught in a pickle between first and second.
Reason for optimism lies in reinforcements that just arrived to the Leprechaun lineup today. Picot debuted following the conclusion of Alabama’s season, and Texas product Oliver Service started behind the plate.
“It was really cool to see those guys and kind of get to know them as a person a little bit more,” Vance said. “They’re really good kids, man. They’ve got a bright future ahead of them.”
The debut for Picot ended with a 1-for-4 day with the two RBIs and a walk. Service went 0-for-4.
Royal Oak also had some solid outings from their bullpen after a rough start from Macio Miller.
TJ McAllister gave four innings in relief, allowing two runs over four innings and momentarily steadying the Leprechaun defense.
Alejandro Espinoza, the NWL leader for strikeouts, had a rare four-strikeout inning after the first batter reached on a dropped third strike.
“The old adage goes, ‘every time you come to the yard, you’re going to see something new,” Vance said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a four-strikeout inning before.”
Espinoza was the third of just three pitchers Royal Oak used during the game.
In a brutal schedule where the Leprechauns only have one scheduled off-day until the all-star break begins on July 22, only using three total pitchers in a game can make things a lot easier.
Royal Oak will now hit the road again, with two road games against the Rockford Rivets and a second road trip to Kokomo in two weeks for another two-game set with the Jackrabbits. The Leprechauns’ next home game is on June 11 against the Kenosha Kingfish. First pitch that night is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
