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Published On: June 11th, 2016

KALAMAZOO, MI – It was a wild finish at Homer Stryker Field in tonight's Wrestling Night game presented by Printmill Printing and Graphics. The Growlers got off to a hot start behind BJ Butler's second straight gem on the mound, and were able to hold off the Wisconsin Woodchucks' comeback bid, to win the game 9-8.

Scoring started early in tonight's contest when Nick Hutchins drove in Connor Kopach on a fielder's choice in the bottom half of the first inning. 

The Woodchucks were able to get this run back quickly due to a fielder's choice RBI of their own off of the bat of Austin Blakeley. 

The fifth inning was when the madness of tonight's game began. The Growlers' bats came to life and they were able to put six runs on the board. It started with a Dan Leckie base hit that drove in Dan Robinson, who was able to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Nick Hutchins followed this run up with a run of his own on a Woodchucks wild pitch. Michael Crowley, Connor Olson, and Sam Griggs all added RBI base hits of their own in the inning and the Growlers stretched their lead to 7-1. 

Kalamazoo made the call to the bulpen at the start of the eighth inning and the Woodchucks bats were finally able to get in a groove. Four base hits and a double off of two different Growlers pitchers did the damage for Wisconsin in the inning and the game was brought even at seven. 

Griggs did not let this game stay tied for too long as he drove in Kopach on a triple in the bottom half of the inning. Griggs then scored on another Wisconsin wild pitch to make it a 9-7 advantage for Kalamazoo. 

The Woodchucks threatened with base runners in the ninth inning and were able to push another run across the plate, but could not tie the game as the Growlers held on to their lead. 

BJ Butler was stellar on the mound again for Kalamazoo as he was able to last seven innings and only allow one run, which was unearned. Butler struck out six batters, only allowed two hits, and did not walk anyone for his second straight start. 

The Growlers and Woodchucks will be back in action tomorrow night at Homer Stryker Field for Ladies Night presented by UniQ Jewelry Gallery. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. EDT. 

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 22-year old summer collegiate 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 140 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 via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.