Traverse City, MI – August 1, 2025 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters finish off the sweep of the Royal Oak Leprechauns 3-0 to secure their 18th win in 19 games in front of 3,635 fans at Turtle Creek Stadium on Friday night.

It was a record-breaking night that began with Adam McKelvey’s fourth strikeout of the night that crowned him as the leader for the most strikeouts in a single season in a Pit Spitters uniform. Then, Eliott Traver notched his ninth save of the season, breaking the single season franchise record for most saves in a season. Finally, it was capped off as Aaron Piasecki played his final game as a Pit Spitter. He finished his career in the Northwoods League with a batting average of .367 which breaks a 25-year-old record for the highest batting average over a career in the ‘woods, finishing .001 of the original record.

After a quiet first couple of innings, Piasecki drove in the first run of the night with an infield base hit to give the Spitters a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. The pitcher’s duel continued as both team’s exchanged zeroes on the scoreboard until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Spitters added a pair of runs for insurance. Adam Broski led off the inning with a base hit before Carter Hain tripled to right-center field to drive him in to extend the Spitters lead to 2-0. Following a pitching change, Jake McNamara singled to center field to drive in the third run of the game to give Traverse City a 3-0 lead. The pitching staff used a combined four pitchers where they struckout 12 batters and only allowed two hits and six walks. The shutout is the team’s fourth of the season.

Traverse City improves to 43-20 and 22-7 in the second half while Royal Oak drops to 30-33 overall and 13-14 in the second half. Adam McKelvey (4-2) threw 6.1 innings where he allowed no runs on two hits, four walks, and struckout seven batters. Trey Acker (1-1) lost his first game of the season after allowing a run after on four hits and two walks through four innings. Eliott Traver (2-0) earned his ninth save of the season in a clean inning of work where he struckout one.

UP NEXT

The Pit Spitters take one final trip to Battle Creek for the 2025 regular season as they’ll get set to face the Battle Jacks for a two-game series. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. Broadcast coverage begins at 6:30 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.