Wausau, Wis. — The Kalamazoo Growlers (17-19; 0-1) were walked off by the Wausau Woodchucks (22-14; 1-0) in the first game of the second half, in a 7-6 final.

Kalamazoo scored first, the first time they’ve done that in eight days and 10 games, nine batter second inning, fueled by three hits and two Woodchuck errors. Wausau would answer in the bottom of the inning, on a Dom Rodriguez home run. A scoreless third would lead to the Woodchucks cutting into the deficit in the fourth, as Dylan Schlotterback led the inning off with a bomb, and Jake Weatherspoon brought the third run in via sac fly. Kalamazoo would protest the comeback, with a Matt Thompson two-run homer that gave Kalamazoo a 6-3 lead.

In his first appearance for the Growlers, Drew Duckhorn would struggle, allowing the first five Woodchucks he faced to reach. Newcomer Logan Lockhart would come on to limit the damage, shutting the rally down at a 6-6 deadlock. Each team would remain scoreless in the seventh and eighth, with Ben Van Nes pitching the eighth for the Growlers. In the ninth, it was Van Nes again, who would allow a leadoff single, before back-to-back outs would put Wausau on the ropes, with the runner now on second. In a two-strike count, Dom Rodriguez would send a ball to right-center to walk the game off for Wausau, securing their first win of the second half.

Ultimately, the Growlers were forced to lean on three new arms in the contest (Duckhorn, Lockhart, and Van Nes), with Cody Piechocki going on a search to see who he can trust as rosters churn prior to the second half. Kalamazoo has 36 games remaining in their season, the halfway point in number of games, and will look to bounce back from their recent 1-8 skid.