FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kalamazoo, Mich. – Behind a record performance by Indiana junior Ryan Kraft, the Kalamazoo Growlers (12-9) held on for a 1-0 win over the Kenosha Kingfish (12-10).
In what has been a heated back-and-forth battle for second place in the Great Lakes East, Wednesday’s doubleheader began with a pure pitcher’s dual. While Kenosha righty Brody Krzysiack struck out a career-high nine through six innings, the Growlers would steal the show.
In his second start of the season, Ryan Kraft dazzled striking out the side three separate times, completing six scoreless innings while giving up just three hits. Of his 21 batters faced, Kraft struck out a Growlers single-game franchise record 14. The mark surpasses the previous record of 12 matched three times in Growlers history.
After two separate inning-ending double-plays and 10 men left on, K-Zoo finally poked through offensively in the sixth. After a single and a stolen base by Jeremy Comer, Joey Winters came up clutch again shooting an RBI double into the right-field corner scoring the game’s only run.
The Growlers bullpen picked up right where Kraft left off, striking out six of the final 11 batters faced ending the game on an immaculate inning from Tyler Papenbrock. Papenbrock secured his second save of the season as the Growlers struck out a single-game franchise record 20 batters.
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. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first-team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. 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.
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