La Crosse Wis. –  A new inter-state rivalry may be forming in the Northwoods League South Division. Tempers flaired in La Crosse, Wisconsin as the Loggers and Kalamazoo Growlers had the benches cleared in the top of the fourth inning. A reversal of a Jalen Phillips (Duke University) home-run, in which home-plate umpire Jose Martin ruled Phillips did not touch home-plate sparked an altercation near the backstop at Copeland Park. Cooler heads prevailed as only a few words and some shoves were exchanged.

Box Score

The Growlers did have a 2-1 lead early in the ball game, but a four-run bottom of the third erased that lead and the Loggers never looked back winning the game 13-5. Aaron Knapp's (California) grand slam in the bottom of the eighth put the game out of reach for Kalamazoo. Despite having the home-run taken away, Jalen Phillips had a good day at the dish, going 2-3 with a triple and one RBI. Jared Kujawa kept his hot bat alive, going 1-fo-3 with two runs scored and extended his hitting streak to five games.

The Kalamazoo Growlers and the La Crosse Loggers complete this two game series tomorrow night at Copeland Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 E.S.T

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.