Kalamazoo, MI – The Northwoods League playoffs are under way. In the first game in the Great Lakes East Divisional Round, the Growlers defeated the Traverse City Pit Spitters 5-4. The Growlers took care of business in front of their home crowd. Anthony Stephan had a huge night at the plate. Stephan drove in three runs including a go-ahead 2-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Myles Beeale also hit a home run in the game to keep the Growlers in ii early. Dylan Freeman got the start for the Growlers. Freeman has been with the team since day one of the 2022 season. Freeman battled on the mound giving up four runs in his 5 innings of work. Brody Ware relieved Freeman and he tossed three shut-out innings in emphatic fashion. Logan Bursick-Harrington closed the door in the ninth to seal the game one win for Kalamazoo. The Growlers now head to Traverse City tomorrow night looking to advance to the Great Lakes Championship Series.

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The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.