Five Straight for the Growlers as they take first in I-94 Rivalry
Kalamazoo, MI — The Kalamazoo Growlers took down the Battle Creek Bombers 6-4 in the first meeting between the two teams.
It looked down in the second inning after the Bombers scored three on starter Braydon Nelson (St. Bonaventure).
But, Miko Rodriguez (Texas A&M) said, “Not so fast,” and delivered a three run home run to tie the ball game in the bottom half of the inning. The equalizer scored Noah Marcoux (Davenport) and Dakota Kotowski (Missouri State) and triggered a perfect third frame for Nelson.
The Growlers then obtained the lead in the fourth on an RBI groundout from Drew Blakely (UVA), that scored Rodriguez.
Battle Creek scored one in the sixth to even the game at four, but the bats got rolling in the seventh for Kalamazoo.
A pair of singles from Shea Kramer (Utah) and Clay Owens (U of Southern Cal), who both came around to score on wild pitches from Mitchell Lee.
The bullpen for the Growlers remained consistent as DJ Moore (Huntington), Michael Dunkelberger (Indiana), and Will Mullen (WMU) all pitched one shutout inning each, combining for four strikeouts.
The I-94 Rivalry continues tomorrow night at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek. First pitch is set for 7:05.
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Currently in its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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 (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
