KALAMAZOO, MI – The Growlers completed their sweep of the Rafters tonight in a shutout. Kalamazoo wasted no time in starting their scoring, tallying two runs going into the top of the second. Joey Loperfido (Duke), hit an RBI sac fly to score Ivan Johnson. Then in the very next at bat, Baron Radcliff hit a single to left field to score Sam Crail.
The Growlers scoring did not stop there. Zach Daniels, from Tennessee, stepped up to the plate and cracked a three-run home run over to center field making the score 5-0 going into the fourth. Baron Radcliff lead off the bottom of the fifth inning by reaching base on an error by the Rafters short stop. Radcliff advanced to second on a stolen base. Niko Kavadas moved Radcliff over to third on his hit and Brendan Rivoli (University of Virginia), got himself an RBI on a single to center field, making the score 6-0.
Cayman Richardson, also from Virginia, showed off his bat and speed with a lead-off triple in the bottom of the sixth. Ivan Johnson then hit a sac fly to score Richardson making the score 7-0 where it would stay the rest of the game.
While the Growlers’ bats were hot, starting pitcher Tom Vail (Notre Dame), was dealing on the mound. Vail went 7.0 innings pitched only allowing one hit and no runs. New arrival Andrew O’Dwyer out of Tennessee Tech came in to finish the game in the final two innings.
The Growlers are on the road next for a four-game road trip to Mequon and Green Bay. They will be back in Kalamazoo on June 21 for a four-game homestand, facing the Kingfish and Mallards.
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The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.growlersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Growlers as your favorite team.