Latest News

Published On: August 15th, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kalamazoo, Mich. – Helping the Growlers secure the Great Lakes Championship, the Northwoods League named Kalamazoo Growlers left-handed pitcher Ryan Kraft as the Pitcher of the Night.

After Tanner Ware put together six scoreless frames yesterday to clinch the Great Lakes East Championship Series, Ryan Kraft snagged the Growlers’ 12th Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night award of the season. Now with 20 since the beginning of 2023, the Growlers hold the most of any team in the Northwoods League.

The Northwoods League Pitcher of the Year grabbed his fourth nightly award of the season, the most by a Growler in a single season in franchise history.

A junior from Indiana, Kraft gave up just one run on one run, a sixth-inning home run.  Across his eighth quality start this season, Ware struck out seven, adding to his Northwoods League-leading and Growlers franchise record-breaking 88 this summer.

Final Line: 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K

Kalamazoo Northwoods League Pitchers of the Night (2024):
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 heads back home to Homer Stryker Field to host its first Northwoods League Championship Game in franchise history. The Growlers will face the La Crosse Loggers with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. ET. Tickets for tomorrow’s championship game can be found at growlersbaseball.com and at this link.
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.