Spitters Match their Longest Win Streak at Five

Traverse City, MI – August 1, 2024 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters win game one of the two-game series against the Battle Creek Battle Jacks, 10-4, in front of 3,305 fans at Turtle Creek Stadium.

The Pit Spitters offense got off to a quick start in the bottom of the first inning with a triple to left field by Aaron Piasecki scoring Jt Sokolove and kicking off a 1-0 lead. Brett Rozman made it 2-0 on a single to center field that scored Piasecki. Following a single hit by Brady Gavula, Brandon Chang hit a ground ball underneath the glove of Caleb Estrada to score Camden Traficante to push the lead to 3-0. Carter Hain capped off the big first inning with a double to right field to score Gavula and Chang to give the Pit Spitters a 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the third inning, Traficante reached first with a walk and then Gavula singled to center to put two runners on base. Chang grounded out to third, giving Traficante a chance to score and to pushing the Pit Spitters lead to 6-0.

The offense for the Pit Spitters picked back up in the bottom of the sixth, with a single to left field hit by Sokolove. Ethan Guerra then drove in Sokolove with a double to left field to make it 7-0. Following a walk drawn by Piasecki, Guerra scored on a wild pitch to further extend the Pit Spitters lead to 8-0. Rozman and Traficante walked to put two runners on during the following at bats, and Gavula singled for the fourth time of the night to score Piasecki to make it 9-0. Hain capped off another big inning for the Pit Spitters with a sacrifice flyout that scored Rozman to give the Pit Spitters a 10-0 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning the Battle Jacks offense finally got to the Pit Spitters pitching staff. Estrada and Cam Hegamin drew back-to-back walks to put two runners on. Ryan Geck singled to left field scoring Estrada to put the Battle Jacks into the scoring column at 10-1. Following a Charlie Berry single, Garrett Swan singled to right field scoring Hegamin and Geck to cut the Pit Spitters lead down to 10-3. The Battle Jacks entered the top of the ninth with that same score but didn’t go down without a fight. After a quick two outs, Geck drew a walk and then scored on a double to left field hit by Sam Griffith to make it 10-4. Berry was hit by a pitch and Swan singled to load the bases. Josh Klug then struckout Edan Perez to end the ballgame to seal the victory for the Pit Spitters at 10-4.

The Pit Spitters improve to 18-10 in the second half of the season and to 35-28 overall, while the Battle Jacks drop to 10-17 in the second half and to 29-34 overall. The Pit Spitters starting pitcher Grant Garman threw six innings of shutout ball where he allowed three hits and struckout four. Seth Gurr threw an inning of relief where he allowed three runs on three hits and two walks. Dominic Mauro threw an inning of scoreless relief where he struckout two. Josh Klug threw an inning giving up a run on two hits, a walk, and struckout one.

The Pit Spitters will stay in Traverse City for the home stand finale against the Battle Creek Battle Jacks. First pitch is tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. and its firework Friday! 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.