Kalamazoo, MI – July 29, 2025 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters finish off the sweep against the Kalamazoo Growlers with a commanding 8-4-win Tuesday night in front of 1,702 fans at Homer Stryker Field.

Max Hammond shines once again as he threw six innings of two-hit, one-run ball alongside Cole Prout who collected his fifth and sixth hit of the road trip including his first home run of the season to help silence the Growlers.

The Pit Spitters entered play Tuesday night winners of 14 of their last 15 games and were seeking to finish the road trip on a high note. A pair of sacrifice flyouts from Aaron Piasecki and Cade Collins helped give the Spitters an early 2-0 lead. In the top of the third inning, Prout took the first strike of his at-bat the opposite way for his first home run of the season to extend the Spitters lead to 3-0. Kalamazoo broke up Hammond’s shutout bid with an RBI base hit to right field by Mike Sprockett to bring the Growlers within 3-1. Jake McNamara doubled and drove in a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning to push the Spitters lead up to 5-1. Jacob Kucharczyk drove in a run on a sacrifice flyout before Piasecki drove in his second run of the night on a base hit to center field to put the Spitters up 7-1. Josh Klug replaced Hammond on the mound and walked the first two batters he faced before giving up a double to center field to Matthew Thompson to make it 7-2. Then, Noah Coy singled back up the middle to drive in another run to make it 7-3. Following Klug being replaced by Drew Ferguson on the mound, a wild pitch allowed another run to score to bring the game to 7-4. Spitters would replicate the same motion in the top of the eighth inning as Kucharczyk scored on a wild pitch thrown by Brendan Burch to give the game it’s final score of 8-4.

Traverse City improves to 41-20 and 20-7 in the second half while Kalamazoo drops to 32-30 overall and 15-12 in the second half. Max Hammond (3-0) earned his third win of the season where he threw six innings allowing one run on two hits, three walks, and struckout three. Hayden Scalf (0-1) made his first start of the season and allowed seven runs on nine hits and two walks while throwing 5.2 innings.

UP NEXT

The Pit Spitters will enjoy their final scheduled day off of the season tomorrow before coming back to Turtle Creek Stadium for the start of a two-game series with the Royal Oak Leprechauns. This is the beginning of the final six home games of the 2025 regular season before playoffs. Pit Spitters will be back in action Thursday night against the Leprechauns with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

###

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.