Battle Creek, MI – August 2, 2025 – The Traverse City Pit Spitters secure their 19th win in 20 games in a 11-2 win against the Battle Creek Battle Jacks in front of 1,188 fans at C.O. Brown Stadium on Saturday night.

Pit Spitters starting pitcher Nic Mirabella bounced back in a huge way following his disastrous outing a week ago in Kenosha as he threw six innings of one hit ball, striking out seven, walking just one and allowing no runs. His offense backed him up following his departure of from the ballgame as they went on to score seven runs in the final three innings.

It took until the top of the third inning for the Spitters to get their first hit of the ballgame, and it was a productive one at that as Cole Prout drove in a run on a single to center field to make it 1-0. At the halfway mark in the ballgame, the Spitters were back in action as a hit by pitch and a single put two runners on with no outs. Grady Mee forced an error on the Battle Jacks right fielder as Alfredo Velazques scored from third to extend Traverse City’s lead to 2-0. A couple more runs were scored in the top of the sixth inning as Carter Hain drove in a run on a sacrifice flyout before Jake McNamara scored on a wild pitch thrown by Andrew Zellers to push the Spitters lead to 4-0. In the back third of the ballgame Cade Collins doubled to right field to drive in another run before McNamara drove in another run on a base hit to right field to further the Spitters lead to 6-0. Battle Creek broke into the scoring column as Josh Klug struggled to find the strike zone on the mound as he walked in a run and then a passed ball allowed another run to score to cut the Spitters lead down to 6-2. Traverse City was back in action as two runs scored on an error committed by Battle Jacks pitcher Lucas Smith to make it 8-2. Collins drove in a run on a sacrifice flyout before McNamara singled again to drive in another run to give the Spitters an outstanding 10-2 lead. Finally, to cap off all the scoring for the Spitters, Mee drove in a run on a sacrifice flyout to give the game it’s final score of 11-2.

Traverse City improves to 44-20 and 23-7 in the second half while Battle Creek drops to 30-35 overall and 10-20 in the second half. Nic Mirabella (5-1) took over the team lead in wins with his fifth of the season after throwing six shutout innings of one hit ball where he struckout seven batters and allowing one walk. Lucas Stone (1-3) was handed his third loss of the season where he threw five innings allowing two runs on four walks, two hits, and struckout two.

UP NEXT

The Pit Spitters conclude their road trip to Battle Creek tomorrow afternoon with first pitch at 1:35 p.m. Broadcast coverage begins at 1:30 on the Northwoods League Network 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.