Growlers Dominate Rivets, Win 14-5
August 2, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release
LOVES PARK, IL. - The Kalamazoo Growlers (34-31; 17-13) rode a strong start and bright offensive play to a 14-5 victory over the Rockford Rivets (25-37; 12-18) on Saturday night.
The game would open with five strong innings for Kalamazoo, taking a 7-0 lead into the sixth, with Jack Crittendon shoving on the bump. The offense was led by the bottom third of the order, with Matthew Thompson, Mike Sprockett, and JD Crisp combining to go 0-0 with four walks, a sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly through five innings. Overall, against Rivets starter James Davis Gaston, the Growlers earned seven walks and scored five runs in Gaston's 2.1 innings.
Following two runs in the top of the inning, the bottom of the sixth would see the end of Jack Crittendon's day, with four runs coming across on eight batters and Donny Tober called on to clean up the remainder of the mess. The 9-4 score wouldn't hold long, as Kalamazoo would score one in the seventh, and four in the eighth to give the Growlers a 14-4 lead heading into the ninth.
The stars for the Growlers came in the bottom five spots in the order, with those spots combining for nine hits, nine walks, 11 runs, and eight RBI's. The offense as a whole added just one more hit, but seven more walks. The Kalamazoo offense has loved facing the Rivets, averaging 11.7 runs through the teams first 11 matchups this summer.
Jack Crittendon earned the win, his seventh of the season which ties Eamon Horwedel's 2024 mark. The win also made Crittendon the first Growler pitcher to earn a win against every division opponent in a singular season since the current format was adopted. The right-hander is next slated to start against Battle Creek on Friday, but could be moved depending on the state of Kalamazoo's playoff hopes.
Speaking on those hopes, Saturday night saw a Battle Creek (now 4.0 GB) loss and Royal Oak (3.0 GB) splitting a double-header against Kenosha. The Growlers will play their final game against Rockford in a Sunday matinee, with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET.
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