KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Growlers finished their first game against the Green Bay Bullfrogs with a walk-off win thanks to returning captain Jason Sullivan.
Kalamazoo ended the game’s scoring drought with Sam Faith (Tennessee) early in the fifth inning. Faith, who arrived today, hit his first home run today to secure the lead. Green Bay answered with a run in the sixth, tying it up.
Niko Kavadas led the Growlers with a single in the bottom of the sixth. Later in the inning, he came around to score on a Brendan Rivoli hit, making the score 2-1.
Kyle Virbitsky started for the Growlers and went six innings allowing just one run. He also struck out five and gave up just four Bullfrog hits. After Jamison Hill threw one inning in relief, Andrew Belcik came in to finish the game for the Growlers. He threw two innings in relief, striking out two Bullfrogs and picking up his first win of the season.
The Bullfrogs added one run in the eighth, but the Growlers’ bats weren’t finished. At the beginning of the ninth inning, Sam Faith began with a single, shortly followed by a single from Parker Murdie. Donovan Clark had a walk to load the bases and Jared Miller struck out for the second out of the inning, leaving it all to Jason Sullivan. With a fist in the air, he hit a line drive over shortstop, securing the Growler’s seventh win of the season (7-3 overall).
The Growlers will play the Bullfrogs again tomorrow night at Homer Stryker Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. The evening’s theme is “Pupperazzi Night” presented by Pets Supplies Plus. Players will wear jerseys made from a collage of fan-submitted dog photos and dogs will be welcome at the ballpark.
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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.