Growlers Bats Defeat Spitters Pitching

Traverse City, MI – July 25, 2024 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters lose game one of the two-game series against the Kalamazoo Growlers, 9-3, in front of 3,144 fans at Turtle Creek Stadium.

Coming off the three-day All-Star break, the Pit Spitters pitching proved to be the trouble spot in tonight’s game. In the top of the first inning, the Growlers struck first on offense. Brodey Acres and Gabe Springer singled followed by a Blake Grimmer walk to load the bases. Eric Becker drew a walk scoring Acres to give the Growlers a 1-0 lead. Xavier Delgado singled to center field scoring Springer and Grimmer to extend their lead to 3-0. Springer, Grimmer, and Beck all drew walks with two outs in the top of the second inning to load the bases once again for the Growlers. Trey Wells was then hit a by a pitch to score Springer to extend the Growlers lead to 4-0. When the Pit Spitters got their chance on offense, Ethan Belk drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Belk then scored on a ground out hit by Carter Hain to cut the Growlers lead to 4-1. Myles Beale kicked off the top of the third with a solo home run to push the Growlers lead to 5-1. Back-to-back walks drawn by Acres and Springer put two runners on. Grimmer singled, scoring Acres and Becker singled scoring Springer to push the Growlers lead to 7-1. Brandon Chang, Jt Sokolove, and Ethan Guerra walked to load the bases for the Pit Spitters in the bottom of fifth. Aaron Piasecki hit a sacrifice flyout scoring Chang to make it 7-2. Brett Rozman was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Pit Spitters. He then came around to score on a ground out hit by Belk to make it 7-3. In the top of the seventh, Grimmer was hit by a pitch, Becker walked, and Wells singled to center field to load the bases. Jeremy Comer hit a sacrifice flyout scoring Grimmer to make it 8-3. Delgado then singled to right field scoring Becker to give the game its final score of 9-3.

The Pit Spitters drop to 13-9 in the second half and to 28-25 overall, while the Growlers improve to 12-9 in the second half and to 30-26 overall. The Pit Spitters starting pitcher Jake Brown threw two innings giving up four runs on three hits, five walks, and striking out three. Seth Gurr threw an inning, where he gave up three runs on three hits and three walks. Jake Ickes threw two innings of scoreless ball giving up three hits and struckout one. James Geshel threw an inning of scoreless work where he allowed two walks. Evan Langer threw an inning, giving up two runs on two hits, allowing a walk and striking out one. Kellen Roberts threw an inning of scoreless relief where he allowed a hit. Jaxon Huffman threw an inning of scoreless relief allowing two walks and two strikeouts.

The Pit Spitters return to Turtle Creek Stadium tomorrow night for game two of the two-game series against the Kalamazoo Growlers First pitch is 7:05 p.m. and its Star Wars night! 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 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 two-time 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 and Silver Slugger 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.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.