Growlers Fall in Heartbreaking Walk-Off Loss
Published on July 3, 2026 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The Kalamazoo Growlers (23-17, 2-2) committed a walk-off error, falling 7-6 against the Traverse City Pit Spitters (23-16, 3-0) Friday night.
The game started well for Kalamazoo, scoring two runs in the second and three in the fourth while R.J. Anglin cruised through three innings.
In the bottom of the fourth, Traverse City began to chip away, scoring one in each of the next three innings, forcing the score to 5-3 after six.
The Growlers added on thanks to a double steal in the seventh, but the Pit Spitters answered quickly, scoring two in the seventh while chasing Anglin out of the game.
Bryan Carney threw a scoreless eighth, maintaining the 6-5 advantage entering the ninth.
Kalamazoo failed to add insurance in the ninth, sending Gavin Jones out for the bottom of the frame.
After putting runners on first and second base with no outs, Jones picked off Sean Martinez at second before inducing a groundout to put Kalamazoo one out away, but a Colin Sander single put the winning run on base and tied the game.
After Sander stole second, Ethan Guerra hit a ground ball to the shortstop, but the ball was thrown away, giving Traverse City the win.
The loss marks Kalamazoo's seventh against Traverse City this season and 10th at Turtle Creek Stadium since the beginning of the 2025 season.
The Growlers return home for a Fourth of July matchup Saturday night against the Kenosha Kingfish. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. EDT.
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