Pit Spitters Late Inning Fireworks Run Out

Royal Oak, MI – July 4, 2024 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters lose game three of the three game series the Royal Oak Leprechauns, 11-6.

The Leprechauns loaded the bases quickly to start the bottom of the first inning. Ryan Mckay and Saborn Campbell singled to lead off the inning. Parker Picot grounded into a fielder’s choice swapping places with Campbell followed up with Jayden Lopez drawing a walk to load the bases. Alex Cheeseman doubled to center field clearing the bases to give the Leprechauns a 3-0 lead. Picot led off the bottom of the third inning with a triple to left field followed with a Lopez being hit by a pitch. Picot scored on a wild pitch thrown by Reilly Shafer to make it 4-0. Brayden Dowd singled to right field scoring Lopez to extend the Leprechauns lead to 5-0. Riley Frost led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single to left field and later scored on a single hit by Campbell to make their lead 6-0. Cheeseman and Ryan Tyranski drew back-to-back walks to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. Dowd singled scoring Cheeseman to bring the Leprechauns lead to 7-0. Frost grounded out allowing Tyranski to score to extend their lead to 8-0. The Pit Spitters offense woke up with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Brett Rozman singled, Ethan Guerra walked, and Aaron Piasecki walked to load the bases. Daniel Jackson was hit by a pitch to cut the Leprechauns lead to 8-1. Vahn Lackey was the second consecutive batter with a hit by pitch scoring Guerra making it 8-2. Brett Denby singled to right field scoring Piasecki and Jackson cutting the Leprechauns lead to 8-4. The Pit Spitters offense continued swinging it well in the top of the seventh as Michael Tchavdarov singled and Rozman doubled. Guerra grounded out scoring Tchavdarov to make it 8-5. Piasecki then singled scoring Rozman to bring the Leprechauns lead down to 8-6. The Leprechauns responded in the bottom of the seventh inning as Cheeseman, Tyranski, and Dowd all walked to lead it off. Cheeseman scored on a Will Croft wild pitch to extend their lead to 9-6. Frost hit into a sacrifice flyout scoring Tyranski to give themselves a 10-6 lead. The Leprechauns offense added one more insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Lopez walked, Cheeseman singled, and Tyranski walked to load the bases. Dowd hit a sacrifice flyout scoring Lopez to seal the victory for the Leprechauns, winning 11-6

The Pit Spitters drop to 1-2 in the second half and to 18-20 overall, while the Leprechauns improve to 2-1 in the second half and to 20-18 overall. The Pit Spitters starting pitcher Reilly Shafer threw three innings giving up five runs on six hits while walking three and striking out two. Seth Gurr threw an inning giving up a run on two hits and striking out one. Josh Klug threw an inning of relief giving up a run on a hit and two walks. Kellen Roberts threw an inning, giving up two runs on three walks. Will Croft threw two innings giving up a run on four walks.

The Pit Spitters will travel to Kokomo to take on the Jackrabbits in a two-game series. First pitch is tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. 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.pitspitters.com or download the new Northwoods League + Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Pit Spitters as your favorite team.

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About the Traverse City Pit Spitters: The Traverse City Pit Spitters have been members of the Northwoods League since their inaugural season in 2019. The Pit Spitters have won two Northwoods League Championships and delivered their unique brand of FUN to hundreds of thousands of fans.  The Pit Spitters share Managing Partners and principal ownership with the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, based in Comstock Park, Michigan. The team’s home games are played in Traverse City’s favorite multi-purpose outdoor entertainment venue, Turtle Creek Stadium. For more information visit https://northwoodsleague.com/traverse-city-pit-spitters/ or contact Jacqueline Holm at 231-943-0100 Ext. 214/ or by email at JacquelineH@pitspitters.com.

About the Northwoods League: The Traverse City Pit Spitters 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 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, 340 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 (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB 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.pitspitters.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Pit Spitters as your favorite team.