Kenosha, WI – August 7, 2025 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters return the favor in the series finale against the Kenosha Kingfish by recording their fifth shutout victory of the season in a 7-0 game, splitting not only the series but the season series in front of 2,543 fans at Historic Simmons Field Thursday night.

The Pit Spitters went with a bullpen day on the mound as four pitchers combined for nine shutout innings, highlighted by Traverse City native Josh Klug who had the best outing of his career with three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

After being shutout for the first time of the season a night ago, the Pit Spitters offense was hungry for revenge. Their lineup got out to a great start in the top of the second inning as Carter Hain drove in two runs on a double to center field to make it 2-0. At the halfway mark, in the top of the fifth inning, Cade Collins drove in a run on a groundout before Brandon Sanchez hit a sacrifice flyout to extend the Spitters lead to 4-0. Jacob Kucharczyk got ahold of a pitch and drove it out of the ballpark to left field in the top of the eighth inning to push the Spitters lead to 5-0 – it was Kucharczyk’s first home run of the season. With two runners on in the top of the ninth inning, Brynden Cleveland singled into center field to drive in a run before Alfredo Velazquez hit a sacrifice flyout to give the game its final score of 7-0.

Traverse City improves to 47-22 and 26-9 in the second half while Kenosha falls to 29-40 overall and 15-19 in the second half. Josh Klug (2-1) earned his second win of the season after completing three scoreless innings without giving up a hit on two walks and striking out four. Cooper Cooksey (2-4) lost his fourth game of the season after throwing five innings where he allowed four runs on three hits, five walks, and struckout three.

UP NEXT

The Pit Spitters travel back to Traverse City for their final home stand of the 2025 regular season where they’ll welcome the Royal Oak Leprechauns who are fighting for a playoff spot. The Leprechauns need to look for a sweep or to win at least one of the two games while hoping Kalamazoo drops one or both games to make the playoffs. With a Kalamazoo win and a Royal Oak loss, the Leprechauns will officially be eliminated from playoff contention. The first pitch between the Pit Spitters and Leprechauns will be tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Broadcast coverage for game one of the series with Jackson Heiden begins at 7:00 p.m. on the Northwoods League Network on the Northwoods League + app.

###

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.