Kalamazoo, Mich. – For the second time in franchise history, the Kalamazoo Growlers are Northwoods League Champions. Behind a 14-inning, seven-hour, 8-7 walk-off victory over the La Crosse Loggers in the 2024 Summer Collegiate World Series, Kalamazoo hoisted the trophy in front of its home crowd.
For the third straight postseason game, Kalamazoo struck first. After an error that allowed Lawson Knight to reach in the first, Knight stole third and scored on a sac fly by Savi Delgado. The Loggers answered quickly against Growlers starter Eamon Horwedel. In the second, Elijah Ickes smacked a two-run single into left to give La Crosse the lead. Following a pair of RBI sac flies in the fourth followed by an RBI double by Ryan Kuckerak and an RBI single by Gable Mitchell in the fifth, La Crosse stormed to a five-run lead.
In a hole, Kalamazoo moved to the pen early as Donald Tober put together a pair of scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh as rain began to fall at Homer Stryker Field.
Following just the lone run across five flawless innings by Loggers’ starter Jah Acevedo, the righty struggled to begin the sixth. After hitting Knight and walking both Delgado and Springer, his night was over. Kalamazoo immediately cut into its deficit after the pitching change. A wild pitch followed by a walk to Trey Wells kept the bases loaded for Korbin Griffin. On the very first pitch, Griffin shot a single off the glove of Loggers first baseman Case Sanderson forcing the Growlers back within three. With the bases still loaded, K-Zoo couldn’t capitalize. A popout and Antonio Perrotta’s 4-6-3 double play ended the threat.
Kalamazoo forced the issue once again in the seventh. As light rain continued to drop down, the Growlers strung together walks in four of the first five at-bats of the inning, forcing the end of the line for Loggers reliever Maddax Peck with the tying runner in scoring position.
Following the pitching change, the rain forced the tarp onto the field and a subsequent delay. That delay, which included field restoration, lasted from 9:13 p.m. to 11:05 p.m. before the seventh inning could resume.
Out of the break, the Loggers stuck with Micah Worley, who entered the game right before the delay. On four straight pitches, Growlers catcher Trey Wells walked, bringing in Knight to bring K-Zoo within one. Following a strikeout of Korbin Griffin, Brandon Sanchez with two outs and a full count watched a fastball miss low and in, bringing home Savi Delgado to tie the game at six.
After a pair of shutdown innings from Carson Byers and Aaron Robertson, the Growlers got the chance to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth but went down in order.
While going against normal Northwoods League postseason rules, both teams received an automatically placed runner at second base to begin extra-innings. For Kalamazoo, Robertson shined in extra-innings. The second-year closer struck out seven across five innings, giving up just one hit while throwing 77 pitches in relief. For the effort, Robertson snagged the Growlers’ 13th Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night award of the season. Now with 21 since the beginning of 2023, the Growlers hold the most of any team in the Northwoods League.
Kalamazoo Northwoods League Pitchers of the Night (2024):
August 15 – LHP #14 Aaron Robertson
August 14 – LHP #29 Ryan Kraft
August 13 – LHP #15 Tanner Ware
August 10 – LHP #29 Ryan Kraft
August 6 – LHP #15 Tanner Ware
August 4 – RHP #37 Liam O’Brien
July 26 – LHP #29 Ryan Kraft
July 11 – RHP #37 Liam O’Brien
July 5 – RHP #37 Liam O’Brien
June 20 – RHP #38 Adam Berghorst
June 19 – LHP #29 Ryan Kraft
June 2 – RHP #20 Eamon Horwedel
May 27 – RHP #28 Jerad Berkenpas
Kalamazoo and La Crosse traded five consecutive scoreless innings between the eighth and 12th, capped off by an RJ Hamilton throw to the plate to throw out Brandon Sanchez in the 12th. Hamilton’s name was called in the 13th as the Loggers took the lead behind his RBI squeeze bunt. In the bottom of the frame, Knight did the same job bringing home Travis Ilitch on a squeeze bunt, evening the game at seven. While only going 1-3, Knight received Northwoods League Player of the Night honors after a pair of sacrifice hits, three total runs scored, and the only Growlers stolen base.
Kalamazoo moved to the pen once again in the 14th as Bryce Brassfield worked through the inning with ease. With Springer as the placement runner, Trey Wells immediately pushed him to third on a groundout to short. After a full-count walk to Myles Beale, Sanchez worked the count full again against Loggers closer Ozzie Martinez.
Sanchez skied a fastball to left-center field, holding deep enough to score Springer tagging up from third to walk it off. Across nearly seven hours and two separate days, the Kalamazoo Growlers are Northwoods League Champions.
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. Now in its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history 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, 360 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, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner, and two-time All-MLB first-team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. 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.