GREEN BAY, Wi. – After dropping two one-run losses to start the second half of the Northwoods League season, the Growlers got one of their own on Friday with a 5-4 victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs.
Tommy Sommer made his first career start on the mound for Kalamazoo, picking up his fourth win of the season on seven innings of work. He allowed four runs on the night, with six hits, two walks and four hits.
Cayman Richardson led the way on offense for the Growlers going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
The Growlers got on the board first off of Green Bay starter McKinley Moore when he walked in Richardson from third base.
The Bullfrog’s answered back in the second inning, with Luke Robinson scoring on a Growler throwing error. They added a second run a batter later with a Brian Davis sacrifice fly.
Richardson would score again in the third inning to tie the game at three before Green Bay scored two more in their half of the third. The runs came on a Matthew Acosta two-run homerun to right field also scoring Esteban Cardoza-Oqueno.
Kalamazoo would get back within one in the top of the fourth on a Jonathon Foster line drive single that deflected off of the pitcher Ben Keizer.
The seventh inning was where the Growlers took the lead for good over the Bullfrogs. Zach Daniels scored from third on a wild pitch and Sam Faith was driven home with an RBI single by Cayman Richardson.
After Sommer finished his seven innings of work on the mound, Andrew O’Dwyer pitched a scoreless eighth inning striking out two batters. Mason Shinabery came on for the save, allowing two hits and both batters to reach scoring position, but retired the final out of the game with a strikeout looking.
The Growler will look for the sweep tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 7:35 E.T.
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The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.growlersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Growlers as your favorite team.