With the regular season over, Thursday and Friday evenings were home to two 9-inning playoff games to determine the South Michigan Pod Championship.

 

Thursday’s game, between the #2 seed Kalamazoo Mac Daddies and #3 seed Battle Creek Bombers determined who would play the #1 seed Kalamazoo Growlers on Friday.

 

The winner of Friday’s game then will travel to Traverse City to face the Pit Spitters in the Michigan NWL Championship.

 

Kalamazoo Mac Daddies (#2) vs Battle Creek Bombers (#3)

 

In the first 9-inning game at Homer Stryker Field since July 16th, both teams got runs on the board early. For the Bombers, Greg Budig opened up scoring with a double that allowed former Mac Daddies’ player Gavin Doyle to cross the plate. A costly balk by starting pitcher Josh Avink, saw the Mac Daddies even things up in the bottom of the first.

 

Later in the fifth, typically the final inning this season, Anthony Calarco added to his RBI count by hitting a single to the right field allowing Chase Coselman to score.

 

In the seventh, with Cade Thune on the mound for Battle Creek, another balk was called allowing Blake Bean to make his way to third base. A prompt sacrifice fly by Kyle Ashworth, rounded off the scoring in the game.

 

Battle Creek’s Josh Avink took home the loss while Parker Sisovsky and Tanner Knapp took the win and save for the Mac Daddies.

 

The 3-1 loss spelled the end of Battle Creek’s season and the end of Battle Creek’s time at their temporary home at Homer Stryker Field.

 

Kalamazoo Growlers (#1) vs Kalamazoo Mac Daddies (#2)

 

Both teams started with their ‘ace’ on the mound in this South Michigan Pod Championship. Adam Wheaton, his final game in a Growlers uniform, gave up a home run against the Mac Daddies’ Shawn Goosenberg early in the first inning. Dean Armbrustmacher started for the Mac Daddies.

 

The Growlers evened things up later in the third. Carson Greene’s well hit double to right field allowed Joseph Kalafut to cross the plate. The Mac Daddies responded in the fourth with a three run inning. Rapid hits by both Vince Bianchina and Blake Bean followed by a sac fly by Chase Coselman and a Kyle Ashworth double got the Daddies ahead.

 

On the mound Travis Snyder took over for the Daddies and pitched six innings, throwing 99 pitches. An extremely well placed triple hit by Blake Dunn on the first pitch in the ninth threatened to start the Growlers’ comeback. However, only Dunn himself was able to make it back home as Snyder proceeded to strike out two of the next three batters.

 

The end score, Mac Daddies 4, Kalamazoo Growlers 2. There was much celebration from the Mac Daddies and their fans after the win. The team gathered for a photograph and raised the trophy, the underdogs had won. The Growlers walked away with 11 left on base and seven hits.

 

Adam Wheaton, took home his first loss of the 2020 season while Travis Snyder took the win for the Mac Daddies.

 

The Mac Daddies now travel to Traverse City to face the Pit Spitters in the Michigan NWL Championship. The game will take place on Saturday, September 5 at 4:05pm.