Growlers Fall in Roller-Coaster Matchup against Leprechauns
August 4, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release
ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- The Kalamazoo Growlers (35-32; 18-14) fell short in a 14-10 barnburner against the Royal Oak Leprechauns (33-34; 16-15) in the first game of a pivotal four-game set on Monday night.
The scoring would open for the Leprechauns in the first off Growler starter Brendan Garza who would face seven batters with the pivotal hit coming off the bat of Patrick Ilitch, who would bring in two runs with his double. Kalamazoo would answer in the second with one off a double steal, but back-to-back solo home runs by Preston Leon and Ryan Tyranski would give the home team a 6-1 lead.
That was until the top of the third. A nine batter inning would be fueled by a Mike Sprockett bases-clearing double that would help retie the game at six runs apiece. Despite his struggles, Brendan Garza would pitch a scoreless third as Kalamazoo would take the lead for the first time in the fourth, before Garza would allow the game to be retied, as Dylan Larkins became the third Leprechaun to leave the park and tie the game at seven.
Kalamazoo would take an 8-7 lead in the fifth off the bat of KJ White and add on in the sixth with two runs, momentarily taking a 10-7 lead. It wouldn't last long, as Will Juday would struggle in the sixth, getting just one out before being tagged for four earned runs, with Donny Tober entering to grab the final two outs. The first scoreless inning in the game would come in the seventh, before the Growlers would be sat down 1-2-3 in the eighth. Tober would labor in the bottom of the inning, allowing three runs on 40 pitches, before Josh Kasner, who would earn the save, went 1-2-3 in the ninth to secure a 14-10 Royal Oak win.
Ultimately, the victory proved pivotal for the Leprechauns, who require a series victory at the least to maintain their life in the Great Lakes East playoff race. Kalamazoo remains with a 2.0 game cushion, but every game provides more and more pressure for the Growlers who are aiming to make the playoffs for the sixth time in seven tries since 2018.
Kalamazoo and Royal Oak will play their final game at Memorial Park in 2025 on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET. The Growlers and Leprechauns head to Kalamazoo for the final two games of the series, before staying to play Battle Creek and heading to Traverse City respectively.
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