In what looked like a game where the Kalamazoo Growlers were going to cruise in, the Rochester Honkers crushed those dreams for Kalamazoo. Rochester came back from a four-run deficit to down the Growlers, 9-8.

Kalamazoo came out swinging and in the second inning, the Growlers plated five for the early 5-0 lead. Camden Duzenack’s (Dallas Baptist) ground-rule double brought in two runs, and David Hensley (San Diego State) blasted his first homerun of the season to pace the Growlers in the second inning.  

The Growlers lead would extend to 6-2 at one point, but the Honkers kept chipping away. Thanks to two different four run innings, Rochester took the 9-8 advantage in the sixth inning and never looked back. Josh Davis (Pepperdine) led the way in the sixth for the Honkers with a two-run homerun, joining Ryan Fitzpatrick (Saddleback College) and Alex Fitchett (Hawaii) as the other Honkers to use the long ball.

Other multi-hit players for Kalamazoo included Brandon Gomez (Nova Southeastern) and Dan Robinson (Central Michigan). Gomez has been on a tear away from Kalamazoo and today, the Miami native went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Robinson went 3-for4 with a run scored and an RBI, his first run batted in since June 20 against the Battle Creek Bombers.

Getting his second start of the season on the mound was Trey Ganns (Northern Kentucky). Ganns struggled this time out, allowing seven runs off seven hits to go along with five strikeouts and three walks over five innings of work. Grant Schneider came on in relief in the sixth inning and struggled to put hitters away, allowing a couple of runs himself after two previous outings in which the Arizona State product was stellar.

The Growlers (24-21) are now 0-3 on the four-game road swing and look to pick a win in Game 2 of the series against the Honkers (11-33). Kalamazoo remains in third place overall in the South division and will have Devin Pellien (Nova Southeastern) on the mound on Friday against Rochester. First pitch is set for 8:05 EST.

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The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd 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 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit  northwoodsleague.com/kalamazoo-growlers/ or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Growlers as your favorite team.