Rochester, Minn. — Tonight was Karl Sorensen's homecoming at Mayo Field in Rochester, Minnesota. The votes did not need to be tallied as he was without question the king on the evening in the Growlers' 10-9 win over the Rochester Honkers.
A grand-slam off the bat of the St. Cloud State third-baseman busted the game open in the 3rd inning, and accounted for four of his six RBIs on the game. The All-Star trio of Troy Montgomery (Ohio State), Jared Kujawa (Western Michigan), and Ryan Lidge (Notre Dame) all showed why they are going to Mequon, Wis. with wonderful performances of their own.
Montgomery scored three runs on the night, while collecting a couple of base-hits and a steal. Kujawa had a three hit ball game, two of the three for extra-bases. The biggest hit of the game was by Ryan Lidge whose two RBI double gave the Growlers their 9th and 10th runs in the win.
The Honkers did compete valiantly tonight, as they rallied for five runs in the ninth inning. The game ended with the tying run second and the winning run on first-base when Donnie Eaton (Michigan) struck-out Alex Schultz (Nebraska) to end the ball game. Josh Long (Northwood University) picked up his first win for the Kalamazoo Growlers, while Nick Gruener (Harvard) took the loss for Rochester.
The Kalamazoo Growlers complete this six game road trip tomorrow afternoon against the Rochester Honkers at Mayo Field. First pitch will be at 2:05 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.