Mequon,WI- A late push fell short as the Growlers drop game one versus Lakeshore, 5-3. Here is how it unfolded.
The Chinooks got on the board first in the bottom of the third with a two RBI double to right center from their first basemen Rylan Thomas (UCF), 2-0 Lakeshore. Later that inning Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State) added a RBI single that landed in between three Growlers in shallow left center scoring Thomas to give the Chinooks a 3-0 lead.
The Growlers would get one back in the fourth after Mitch Bigras ( Boston College) led the inning off with a double. He would come around to score on a groundout to second from left fielder Matt Koehler (Western Carolina) after Bigras advanced to third on a sac bunt from center fielder Jeff Riedel (Ball Sate), 3-1 Chinooks. Bigras would finish 4-4 with a stolen base in his Growlers debut.
Lakeshore would add a run in the fifth on a RBI single from their catcher Nick Gatewood (Georgia State), 4-1 Lakeshore. The Chinooks would add another run in the sixth after their shortstop Matt Burch (Arkansas) reached second base to start the inning via an error. Burch scored on an RBI single from right fielder Connor Kimple (Oklahoma State), 5-1 Chinooks
The Growlers would fight back in the top of the eigth after Micheal Diffley (SDSU) walked to lead of the inning and Charlie Carpenter (USC Upstate) stepped up to the plate. Carpenter proceeded to hit a bomb out towards Lake Michigan over the center field fence to cut the Lakeshore lead in half, 5-3 Chinooks.
Kalamazoo would get the tying runs on base in the top of the ninth, but the Growlers were unable to tie it up as Joe Heineman (Baylor) struck out the final two batters he faced to end the game and earn his first save of the year.
Growlers starter JR Holloway (Oklahoma City) takes the lose after going 5 innings and giving up 4 earned runs, and Lakeshore starter Sam Lund (Madison College) gets the win after producing a quality start of 6 innings and 1 earned run. Game two versus the Chinooks and the final game of this road trip for Kalamazoo will be tomorrow at 7:35 ET from Kapco Park as the Growlers look to ride home on a high note.
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The Kalamazoo Growlers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate 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, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). 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.