Postgame Recap Story presented by Townsquare Media
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — JJ Manion walked off the mound for the final time in 2026 the way every pitcher dreams of — with a lead, a shutout and a win the Kalamazoo Growlers (11-6) needed.
Manion made his third and final start of 2026 Thursday night, facing off against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (6-12). Manion gave up back-to-back base hits to open the night before finding his groove, picking up a strikeout and pair of groundouts to end the first.
Hutson Chance opened the bottom of the inning with his first triple of the season, while Trevor Johnson made his return to Kalamazoo with a first-inning sacrifice fly, giving the Growlers a 1-0 lead.
“It’s so much easier to pitch when you have a lead, it’s so big,” Manion said postgame.
From there, Manion continued to find his way out of sticky situations, stranding one runner in the second, third, and fourth, keeping things at 1-0. The right-hander knew going into the day it was his final start in a Growler uniform in 2026.
“Just leaving it all out there for the guys, trying to help them push forward into the stretch run of the season,” Manion said.
In the sixth, Fond du Lac had Carson Willis up with runners on second and third and two outs before he laced a ground ball toward the shortstop hole that hopped up off the infield grass, right into the sprinting Luke Meyer that recorded an unfortunate final out in the sixth.
After six innings, Manion’s day came to an end and Kalamazoo called on Jack Crittendon. Crittendon has made a temporary move to the bullpen after a pair of off days reset the rotation, and third pitch of his outing was rocketed toward the left-field corner, but a leaping Joshua Campbell snared the ball above the fence saving a run.
Following the heroic robbery, Crittendon settled down, giving up just two singles the rest of the way, clinching the save and the shutout.
“I’m so proud of [Jack], his effort, and the way he went about his job after he didn’t have the success he wanted a couple of outings ago… When he doesn’t do something he needs to do, he will fix it. He’s a go-getter,” Growler pitching coach Greg Wright said.
The shutout gives Kalamazoo an extra half-game on the rest of the Great Lakes East, while becoming just the third team in the Northwoods League to reach the 11-win mark.
The Growlers earned their first shutout win since July 26, 2024, and will face the Dock Spiders for the final time in 2026 Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
