Kalamazoo, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Growlers' bats didn't necessarily go cold on Monday night against the Lakeshore Chinooks at Homer Stryker Field, as they totaled nine hits, but the Growlers struggled to turn those hits into runs and lost, 6-2.

Caleb Baragar (Jackson Community College) got his first action on the mound since opening day against the Madison Mallards, and while the left-hander was effective in spots, he generally struggled to find the strike zone and exited after allowing three runs off four hits in three innings. Kent Williams (Indiana) worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth and threw two scoreless innings afterwards.

The Growlers scored a run in the fourth off an RBI single from Cody Leichman (Central Michigan). They then loaded the bases with one out in the fifth but were unable to produce a run.

But Williams allowed three consecutive hits to begin the seventh inning and exited in favor of Chris Cervantes (Eastern Kentucky), who surrendered a two-RBI double to Michael Morman (Valaparaiso) to make the score 6-1 in favor of the Chinooks. 

Jared Kujawa (Western Michigan) singled home a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 6-2, but Andrew Elliott (Wright State) shut the door on the Growlers in the ninth to deny their attempt at extending their winning streak to six.

The Growlers finish off their first homestand of the season on Tuesday at 10 a.m. against the Chinooks. Area schoolchildren will visit Homer Stryker Field for Education Day, with events including robotics from the local team Stryke Force.

The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel.  For more information, visit http://www.growlersbaseball.com.