Traverse City, MI – July 21, 2025 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters escaped a late inning comeback to the Kalamazoo Growlers to hold on and win their eighth in a row, 3-2, in front of 1,517 fans on Monday night at Turtle Creek Stadium.

The Pit Spitters matched their season long win streak total of eight games off the arm of starting pitcher Nic Mirabella who threw six shutout innings striking out nine batters and pulling within five strikeouts of the all-time single season record for strikeouts in a season.

The dominant starting pitching carried into the series finale against the Growlers, and it showed as the first run of the night didn’t cross the plate until the fourth inning. With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Brooks Sartain doubled to left field before Colton Roquemore caused shortstop Noah Coy to make an error allowing a run to score to give the Spitters a 1-0 lead. An inning later and the Spitters were back at it as Cade Collins extended his team leading RBI total to 37 RBIs on a groundout to first allowing the Spitters to extend their lead to 2-0. Later, Adam Broski drove in Jake McNamara on a rocket to left field to push their lead to 3-0. That wound up being it in terms of scoring for Traverse City, but the Growlers offense started to piece things together in the top of the eighth inning. A walk and a base hit with one out set up Jayce Lee for success as he drove in a run on a single to left field to bring the game to 3-1. In the next at-bat, Gabe Springer hit a sacrifice flyout to pull the Growlers within one to make it a 3-2 game. In the top of the ninth inning, closer Eliot Traver came in and shut the door on the Growlers to secure his seventh save of the season. The save brings him within one of tying the single season record in saves.

Traverse City continues to improve to their best mark of the season at 33-19 overall and 12-6 in the second half while Kalamazoo falls to 29-25 overall and 11-7 in the second half. Nick Mirabella (4-1) earned his fourth win of the season after striking out nine batters, falling one shy of his season high. Brody Krzysiak (0-2) was handed his second loss of the season as three runs scored during his five innings of work along with five runs and two walks.

UP NEXT

The Pit Spitters continue their homestand tomorrow night as they will make up a rainout retroactive to July 11th followed by the normal scheduled game. Game one begins at 5:05 p.m. as the Pit Spitters will be the away team and game two will follow a half hour after the conclusion of the game with the Spitters back as the home team. Broadcast coverage with Jackson Heiden will begin on the Northwoods League Sports Network at 5:00 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.