FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kalamazoo, Mich. – The Kalamazoo Growlers (16-16) have now lost four straight after a 20-10 defeat to the Rockford Rivets (24-9).

In the first matchup of four this season at Rivets Stadium, the Growlers and Rivets showed out offensively to begin the ball game. In the first two innings, K-Zoo and Rockford combined for 11 runs on eight hits including a three-run home run by Arizona sophomore Maddox Mihalakis.

Mihalakis dominated on Saturday night, finishing 2-3 with a two-RBI double, sac fly, and the three-run shot. Ending the night with six RBI, Mihalakis was awarded as the Northwoods League Player of the Night.

Holding to a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the third, the Rivets would get its third straight three-run inning to begin the game. After an error on Sam Harris at first and an error, Brayden Bakes destroyed the second three-run home run in as many innings over the right field wall.

Bakes also had a career night on Saturday, ending 4-5 with five total RBI and a stolen base. The redshirt freshman from Indiana had his fourth multi-hit game in his last five games.

Down four, the Growlers poked into the deficit in the fifth. Following a leadoff triple by Savi Delgado, K-Zoo put up a pair on an RBI sac bunt followed by an RBI single from Korbin Griffin to bring the Growlers back within two

The Rivets answered with a pair of its own in the bottom of the fifth before blowing the game open in the sixth with four runs and all nine batters digging into the box.

While K-Zoo added on two in the eighth and another in the ninth, a five-run, four-hit, two-walk inning eighth for the Rivets put the final down the final dagger.

Kalamazoo ended the night 0-2 with the bases loaded and left 13 runners on. K-Zoo is now hitting 8-48 (.167) with the bases juiced this season and has left on 10 or more runners 13 times this season.