LAKESHORE, Wis. – The Kalamazoo Growlers (14-6) swept the Lakeshore Chinooks (8-12) over the weekend and have now won six straight games.

Game one occurred on Saturday evening where the Growlers topped the Chinooks 5-1 in Andrew Belcik’s first start as a Growler.

Belcik threw five innings, allowing three hits without giving up a run and picking up his first win as a Growler.

In relief of Belcik, Tommy Sommer tossed two innings of scoreless baseball and struck out two. Nikoh Mitchell made his Growlers debut to finish the game giving up one run on two walks and a hit.

Offensively the Growlers were led by a Jonathan Foster two-run Home Run to left field which opened the scoring for Kalamazoo.

Joey Loperfido paced the team for the rest of the game with three hits in five at bats and a run scored.

Game two held strong offensive performances for both teams with the Growlers topping the Chinooks 12-8.

Kalamazoo started the first inning with four straight hits, the final knock being a Niko Kavadas three-run homerun. It was Kavadas’ second home run of the season.

After Lakeshore answered back for two runs in the second the Kalamazoo offense went back to work scoring one run in both the third and fourth inning.

The Growlers then erupted for four runs again in the fourth inning to make the score 10-2. The big hit of the inning came on a Sam Faith RBI double.

The final two runs for Kalamazoo came in the fifth inning when Donavan Clark scored on a Joey Loperfido RBI single.

Kavadas had the big day at the plate for the Growlers going 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.

Loperfido followed with a 4-for-4 outing with two runs an RBI and a walk and Cayman Richardson went 2-for-4 with two walks and four runs for the Growlers.

Derek Carr started on the mound in game two for the Growlers but only lasted one inning before getting into trouble. His final line was one inning pitched, three hits, two runs, one walk and a strikeout.

In relief of Carr, Adam Wheaton pitched five innings and gave up six runs, four of which were earned. Jamison Hill threw two clean innings and Mason Shinabery finished the game in the ninth to hold on for the 12-8 victory.

The Growlers will have a day off before traveling to Green Bay for a two game set starting on Tuesday.

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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.