Spitters Outslug Rivets to Stay Alive in Playoff Race

Rockford, IL – August 7, 2024 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters win game two of the two-game series against the Rockford Rivets, 18-15.

The Pit Spitters kicked off the night of offensive affairs with a double to center field hit by Mark Kattula scoring Aaron Piasecki to give them a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning, the Rivets were able to tie the game on an error committed by Seth Gurr that allowed Tre Hondras to score making 1-1. Piasecki kicked off the top of the third with a triple that scored two runs to give the Pit Spitters a 3-1 lead. Camden Traficante added one more run with a sacrifice flyout to make it 4-1. Ethan Belk forced an error on third baseman Will Couchman that allowed Kattula to score to push their lead to 5-1. Michael Tchavdarov continued the hit parade with a double that scored two runs to extend the Pit Spitters lead to 7-1. Brandon Chang made it the Pit Spitters second straight extra-base hit to make it 8-1. Reed made it an eight-run inning with a hit that caused catcher Ivan Dahlberg to throw away the ball that gave the Pit Spitters a score of 9-1. The Rivets were able to add on a run in the bottom of the third with a single to right field hit by Dahlberg to cut into the Pit Spitters 9-2 lead.

After both sides took an inning off of scoring, the Pit Spitters started up in the top of the fifth. Traficante had a productive groundout that scored a run to give them a 10-2 lead. The Rivets rejoined the scoring column in the bottom of the fifth inning as well. J.R. Nelson singled that allowed a run to score to cut the Pit Spitters lead down to 10-3. Dahlberg hit a sacrifice flyout to make it 10-4. In the top of the sixth, Hain scored on a wild pitch and then Belk later scored on a groundout that pushed the pit Spitters lead to 12-3. Reed finished the inning with a double to left field scoring a run that made it 13-3. Cade Zalewski led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run to make it 13-4. The Rivets later scored one more on a single to right field and a walk with bases loaded to make the score 13-6.

The Rivets started to make the game a little more interesting in the bottom of the eighth inning as Tchavdarov committed a fielding error allowing a run to score. Dahlberg followed up the error with a sacrifice to bring the Rivets within 13-8. The top of the ninth is where the Pit Spitters tried to put the game out of reach. It started out with a single to left field by Kattula that scored two runs to make it 15-6. Kattula scored on a wild pitch, Hain on a hit by pitch, and Belk on a wild pitch to make it 18-8. The Rivets didn’t go down without a fight and it started with them loading the bases. Nelson and Bobby Atkinson drew back-to-back walks to score two to make it 18-10. Tj Williams scored on an error committed by Tchavdarov to make it 18-11. Hondras and Zalewski drew back-to-back walks to cut with in 18-13. Tommy Atkinson hit a sacrifice flyout to make it 18-14 which made the game final.

The Pit Spitters drop to 21-13 in the second half of the season and to 38-31 overall, while the Rivets drop to 18-15 in the second half and to 44-25 overall. The Pit Spitters starting pitcher Seth Gurr threw four innings where he allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five. Evan Langer threw an inning and a third where allowing three runs on three hits. Josh Klug threw an inning and two thirds where he struckout four. Kellen Roberts threw an inning where he allowed two runs on a hit. Jaxon Huffman threw a third of an inning where he allowed five runs on four walks. Mason Hill threw the final two outs and earned the save.

The Pit Spitters will stay in Rockford for game two of the two game series against the Rivets. First pitch is tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. CT. 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.