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Published On: June 15th, 2016

After having their seven game winning streak snapped the night prior, the Kalamazoo Growlers bounced back to beat the Wisconsin Woodchucks 8-3 at Athletic Park on Tuesday night.

Kevin Marnon (Ball State) was spectacular for the Growlers, going eight innings, and allowing just three runs, two of which were earned, to pick up his first win of the season. Marnon struck out a season high eight batters, scattered six hits, and silenced a Woodchucks lineup that had hit three homeruns the night before. Marnon retired the first eight Woodchucks that he faced, and struck out two Woodchucks in an inning three times.

The Growlers got the scoring started in the third inning, as Dan Robinson (Central Michigan) drove in Connor Kopach (Southern Illinois) for the game’s first run. The Growlers then exploded in the fourth, scoring three runs on a single from Nick Hutchins (Southern Illinois), a double from Dan Leckie (Lafayette College), and an RBI single from Connor Olson (Concordia St. Paul). Kasey Cooper (Arkansas-Fort Smith) and Eli Lovell (Kansas City C.C.) provided RBI groundouts as well.

The Woodchucks would respond with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth, but Marnon would settle down and not allow another run until he gave up a two-run homerun to Connor Heady in the 8th inning. The Growlers had scored two of their own runs in the top of the eighth on a 2-RBI single from Leckie. In the ninth, the Growlers tacked on some insurance runs, with Lovell singling before Robinson doubled. A throwing error by the Woodchucks resulted in Lovell scoring and then an RBI single by Hutchins brought in Robinson for a final insurance run, before Jordan Gonzalez shut the door on the Woodchucks with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Robinson extended his hitting streak to 13 games with his infield single in the third inning, and tallied his fourth multi-hit game of the season. Hutchins had four hits to lead the Growlers and Leckie had three hits. The Growlers tallied 14 hits after going for just five the night prior in a loss to the Green Bay Bullfrogs.

The Growlers will try to win their fourth in a row against the Woodchucks, as Larry Wood (Northwood) is on the mound with the game scheduled to begin at 7:35 EDT from Athletic Park.

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