KALAMAZOO, MI – The Woodchucks started the game by picking up where they left off last night. Brandon Seltzer singled with one out, and then Adam Frank doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Kenny Rodriguez then grounded out, but it was enough to bring Seltzer home and give the Chucks a 1-0 lead.

 

The Growlers answered right away. Zack Gelof hit a triple with one out and was brought home on the next at bat by Shea Kramer to tie up the game. With Kramer on second base, Rudy Maxwell singled to bring Kramer home and give the Growlers a 2-1 lead.

 

That lead lasted just one pitch. Santino Miozzi took the first pitch he saw in the top of the 2nd over the left field fence for a solo home run, his second of the season. Beau Nichols struck out the side in the bottom of the 2nd inning and we went to the 3rd tied at 2-2.

 

The Woodchucks retook the lead in the top of the 3rd. Adam Frank doubled with two outs, and an error made by Austin Knight on a grounder hit by Kenny Rodriguez allowed him to score. Rodriguez ended up on 3rd after another Growler error, and Alec Arnone singled to bring him in. Kalamazoo made three errors in the inning, and the Chucks were up 4-2.

 

Wisconsin absolutely exploded in the 4th inning. Kaeber Rog led off with a single, and Cameron Swanger took the first pitch he saw out of the yard for a two-run home run. Lawrence Cicileo kept the party going with a solo home run the next at bat, the first time this year the Woodchucks went back-to-back. Later in the inning, Kenny Rodriguez hit his 5th home run of the year, a two-run shot. The next batter, Alec Arnone left the yard as well, giving the Woodchucks four home runs in the inning going back-to-back twice. Going into the bottom of the 4th, it was 10-2 Chucks.

The Growlers came back with some runs of their own in the 6th inning. A leadoff double by Shea Kramer saw him come around a few pitches later on a wild pitch to give the Growlers a run. Later in the inning, a single by Jimmy Sullivan scored Joel Brewer and the Growlers had their second run of the inning. With the bases loaded a few batters later, Jake Topolski hit a bases clearing double, and the score became 10-7 going into the 7th inning.

 

The Woodchucks responded nicely. Alec Arnone and Santino Miozzi both singled with one out, and Cameron Swanger brought them both in with a two out triple. After that hit, Swanger was up to four RBIs on the day and the score was 12-7.

 

Tom Ambrosino came in to shut down the final two innings, and he got into a little bit of trouble in the 9th. He gave up a two run home run to Rudy Maxwell to make the score 12-9. He then struck out Gabe Rivera for the final out, giving the Chucks a 12-9 win.  

 

Top Performers

 

 Beau Nichols had a great start, going five and one third innings while striking out eight batters.

 

Alec Arnone went three for five with a home run and two RBIs.

 

Cam Swanger went two for four with a home run, a triple and four RBIs.

 

Next Up

 

The Woodchucks will enjoy some time off during the upcoming three-day All-Star break. They will be back in action at Athletic Park this Thursday, July 18th to take on the Traverse City Pit Spitters at 6:35.

 

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The Wisconsin Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.woodchucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Woodchucks as your favorite team.