TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The Kalamazoo MacDaddies enjoyed a dominant pitching performance as they rolled the Traverse City Pit Spitters 4-1, earning a Northwoods League Michigan Pod Championship in front of a sold-out crowd Saturday evening at Turtle Creek Stadium.
Pitching was the story of the night as three different MacDaddies combined to strikeout 11 Pit Spitters while leaving nine on base. Starter and Western Michigan University product, Hayden Berg, dazzled on the mound going 6.0 innings while allowing just one run on one hit as he tied his season-high in punch outs with nine in the championship-clinching victory.
Kalamazoo jumped on the scoreboard first as second baseman, Sean Goosenberg, came around to score on a throwing error before right fielder, Ethan O’Donnell, ripped a two-RBI single to deliver the MacDaddies the early 3-0 advantage. The Pit Spitters failed to manage a single base hit until the sixth, when Tommy Troy scorched a single before coming around to score on a double steal, slimming the Kalamazoo lead to 3-1. In the ensuing frame, the Spitters were able to load the bases with just one out but failed to plate anyone as MacDaddies relief arm, Ricky Clark, induced a fly-out and a pop-out to tightrope out of trouble and keep the score at 3-1. Kalamazoo outfielder, Blake Dunn, added a lone insurance run in the ninth as he doubled to open the frame before crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Sean Goosenberg, extending their lead to 4-1. The Spitters managed to get runners on second and third with just one out in the bottom of the ninth before back-to-background outs ended their hopes at a comeback – sending Kalamazoo on to the victory, 4-1.
With his dominant performance, Hayden Berg (1-0), picked up his first postseason victory while closer, Ricky Clark, notched the save tossing 3.0 innings of shutout baseball with a pair of punch outs. Pit Spitters starting pitcher, John Beuckelaere (0-1), lasted only 2.1 frames while allowing three runs – two of them earned – on four hits in the loss.
About Northwoods League:
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now entering its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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 230 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 (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
