By: Noah Chavez
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – With the first half in the books, the Royal Oak Leprechauns essentially started a brand new season on Tuesday, with the second half beginning with a six-game homestand at the Lucky Corner. Facing three different opponents, the Leprechauns were able to go 3-3, but still have plenty of time left to climb the Great Lakes East standings.
In the opening two games of the half, the Kalamazoo Growlers grabbed the sweep, winning 13-9 in a high scoring game one, while commanding the tempo of game two with a 9-3 victory. While the team did not get the results they had hoped for, Mason Barth stood out, collecting five hits across the two games, and lefty Jackson Miller recorded six of the eight outs via strikeouts in his game two start.
On Thursday, the Battle Creek Battle Jacks made the trip to Memorial Park, and with the offense putting up seven runs in the second inning, Royal Oak cruised to their first victory of the half by a score of 10-3. Catcher Carson Raether led the team with three runs batted in on the day, while All-Star Luke Kosko also drove in a pair of runs on a double. On the pitching side, Greg Burns navigated four innings without allowing a run, giving up just one hit in the process.
In the finale against the Battle Jacks, a weather delay after three pitches stopped the game for over two hours, but as the clock neared midnight in Royal Oak, the Leprechauns got their fourth walk-off victory of the season in a 4-3 win.
Although the Leprechauns only had five hits all night, the biggest one came from Mason Barth. Barth, who was 0 for 4 heading into his final at-bat in the ninth, served a line drive into left field that would score Noah Brocklebank and secure a sweep of the Battle Jacks.
With a cross-division showdown over the weekend with the Northwoods League’s hottest team, Royal Oak had a tough task when the Lakeshore Chinooks came to The Lucky Corner with a 10-game winning streak.
In what was arguably the Leprechauns’ best game of the season, they scored in seven of eight offensive innings to get a 12-6 win. Although they lost 12-5 in game two, Connor Larkin tallied five hits and 3 RBIs across the two games, while Kosko had seven hits in the two days, nabbing Northwoods League Player of the Night honors on July 4.
With a well-deserved break coming up for the 2026 Northwoods League All-Star Game, the Leprechauns will be off until Friday, when they take on the Battle Jacks in Battle Creek for two games. Then on Sunday, it’s the start of a two-game series against the Rockford Rivets at Memorial Park. First pitch on Sunday from The Lucky Corner is set for 4:05 p.m. ET.
Tickets can be purchased on the team’s website or at the gate. Fans can also follow the team across all social platforms to stay up to date.
