Kalamazoo, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Growlers had a 4-0 lead before they recorded an out, so in Thursday's game against the La Crosse Loggers was just a matter of holding on.

Easier said than done, of course, for a team whose bullpen has struggled like Kalamazoo's. But the Growlers took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh, and four relievers combined to hold off the Loggers and give Kalamazoo the win by that same margin. 

"It's just simply being in the strike zone more often," Growlers pitching coach Chris Smith said. "With our staff, they've got good enough stuff to get outs, it's just a matter of getting the ball in the strike zone so that they can be competitive and the other kids can have a chance to put the ball in play. When they put the ball in play, good things happen for us defensively."

The Growlers were facing a pitcher in Steven Piette (Augsburg) who was making his first appearance of the season, and they didn't delay in making him feel unwelcome. Troy Montgomery (Ohio State) and Justin Fletcher (Northern Illinois) singled to lead off the game, and after Jared Kujawa (Western Michigan) walked, Karl Sorensen came up with the bases loaded. 

The St. Cloud State product took a pitch in the dirt that bounced back to the screen and scored one run. He did the rest of the work himself, slugging a home run over the roof of the Miller Lite Party Zone in left field that drove three runs home. Sorensen would end up having all four of Kalamazoo's RBIs in the game. 

"Coach is giving me a bunch of tips to look for certain pitches and stay back and look to go up the middle to backside when I get two strikes, and, you know, I saw a good pitch and put a good swing on it, and it keeps going out."  

The Loggers clawed back to tie the game at 4-4 after a three-run fifth, but Sorensen drove Troy Montgomery home with a single in the seventh. From there, it was the Growlers bullpen's game to hold. Sorensen had all four of Kalamazoo's RBIs in the game. 

They did just that. Josh Buchalski, Nick Wernke, Devon Bronson and John Schreiber combined to hold the Loggers down and secure the win. Schreiber, who only just joined the team at the beginning of the current homestand, broke a bat to begin the ninth and whiffed two La Crosse hitters to end it after allowing a single.  

The Growlers are back in action against the Loggers tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. It's Susan G. Komen Pink Out The Park Night, and the first 1,000 fans get a pink Growlers hat, presented by Borgess Health. Players will also wear special pink jerseys, which will be auctioned off during the game. 

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.