Traverse City, MI – July 22, 2025 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters strikeout the Rockford Rivets, 4-0, winning their 10th straight game in front of 2,037 fans Tuesday night at Turtle Creek Stadium.

The Pit Spitters enjoyed a complete game shutout off the arm of Max Hammond who struckout a career high 11 batters to finish off the doubleheader sweep. The complete game shutout is the Pit Spitters first shutout since Kyle Jones threw one on June 16, 2019, against the Rivets.

To allow Hammond to settle in early, he benefitted from an early offensive wake up as Grady Mee scored on a passed ball thrown by Rivets starting pitcher Brennan Baker to give the Spitters a 1-0 lead. Later in the bottom of the second inning, Traverse City scored their second run of the night on a sacrifice flyout to extend the Spitters lead to 2-0. Hammond was hot early as he had struckout six batters through the first three innings including striking out the side in the third, which hasn’t been done all season by the Pit Spitters pitching staff. Over the next three innings, his strikeout pace slowed down as he struckout only three batters, bringing his total to nine overall, but his shutout and no-hitter were still intact. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Spitters offense added insurance runs as Aaron Piasecki drove in a pair of runs on a base hit to the outfield to push their lead to 4-0. Finally, in the top of the seventh inning, Hammond forced Collin Mowry to flyout before he struckout Gavin Taylor to pull within one out of not only a complete game shutout but a no-hitter. After walking Lance Mittelman, Kenny Hirschfeld drove the second pitch he saw to center field, breaking up the no-hitter. Hammond finished his night on a high note as he struckout his 11th batter to end the ballgame. Hammonds 11 strikeouts mark him one short of the single game record that was set by Chad Patrick with 12 on August 20, 2020.

Traverse City makes it 10 wins in a row, their third longest winning streak in franchise history, all the while improving to 35-19 overall and 14-6 in the second half. On the other side, Rockford falls to 23-20 overall and 6-11 in the second half. Max Hammond (2-0) earned his second win of the season after throwing a complete game shutout for just the second time in franchise history as he allowed one hit, three walks, and struckout 11 through seven innings. Brennan Baker (0-2) threw 5.1 innings allowing three runs to score on seven walks and two hits.

UP NEXT

The Pit Spitters conclude their series with the Rockford Rivets tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Traverse City aims to tie the second longest win streak in franchise history as they go for 11 in a row. Broadcast coverage with Jackson Heiden will begin on the Northwoods League Sports Network at 7:00 p.m. on the Northwoods League + App.

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The Pit Spitters Are Going Cashless: Starting in 2025, Turtle Creek Stadium will transition to a fully cashless operation to enhance fan safety, streamline transactions, and improve efficiency. All purchases, including tickets, concessions, and merchandise, will require contactless payments. Fans needing to convert cash can do so at designated locations. This move ensures a smoother, more convenient game-day experience for all. Read more here.

About the Northwoods League: The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 24 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, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 380 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 (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner 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, two-time 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.