Kalamazoo, MI- On the first and only day of nine inning doubleheaders at Homer Stryker Field, the Kalamazoo Growlers and Kalamazoo MacDaddies split the games, with the Growlers winning the morning contest 3-2, and the MacDaddies picking up a 7-4 victory in the evening game.

 

The MacDaddies struck first in game one, when Chase Coselman (Kalamazoo College) launched a solo home-run in the bottom of the second. 

 

The Growlers wasted very little time responding, tying up the ballgame in the third when Jake Topolski (Duke University) came around to score off a Brett Barrera (Stanford University) RBI single. 

 

The teams would remain deadlocked at 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when Cade Sammons (University of Mississippi) hit an RBI double that scored Khale Showers (Northwood University). The Growlers bumped their lead up once again in the eighth when Ben Van Cleve (University of Mississippi) brought Blake Dunn (Western Michigan University) home with an RBI Single. 

 

The MacDaddies would refuse to go quietly into the night, with Connor McGuire (UC Irvine) scoring on a wild pitch in the top half of the ninth, before the Growlers were able to escape with the win.

 

In game two, the MacDaddies again delivered the first blow with an Alex Ludwick (Baldwin Wallace University) RBI single. The Growlers wasted no time answering however, courtesy of an RBI from Trent Quartermaine (Ball State University). 

 

The Growlers took the lead in the third, when Garrett Schultz (Xavier University) and Will Morrison (Western Michigan University) delivered RBI singles. 

 

The teams would trade runs in the sixth, starting when the MacDaddies Anthony Calarco (Northwestern University) hit a single to score Ludwick. The Growlers then answered in the bottom half of the frame with a Sammons RBI triple. 

 

With the score at 4-2, the MacDaddies took the lead when Gavin Doyle (Western Michigan University), Jaekob Sallee (Hillsdale College), and McGuire delivered RBI’s in consecutive at-bats.

 

Taking a 5-2 lead into the ninth, the MacDaddies extended their lead courtesy of an RBI double from Doyle, who would eventually come around to score himself on a wild pitch. The MacDaddies would hold serve in the bottom half of the ninth, and earn their first win over the Growlers.

 

The Growlers are back in action tomorrow against the Battle Creek Bombers for a 5:15/8:00 five-inning doubleheader.