Growlers Fall In Series Opener Against Chinooks
June 12, 2024 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release
Kalamazoo, Mich. - On Tuesday, June 11, the Kalamazoo Growlers dropped its series opener in Mequon, Wisconsin, falling to the Lakeshore Chinooks 6-1.
The starter battle was the story of the night as Indiana junior Ryan Kraft for the Growlers and Gonzaga sophomore Mathew Mueller battled in each of their season debuts.
Mueller struck out the first six batters he faced while Kraft struck out a pair in the first two frames. K-Zoo struck first in the top of the third. Following a walk by Evan Rodriguez backed up by a single and a sac bunt, Brodey Acres drove in the first run on an RBI single to left.
That's all the offense K-Zoo would muster. After the RBI single, Matthew Mueller would retire 11 of his final 13 batters of his day, striking out six more to end the night with a career-high 12. The Chinooks took the lead in the fourth, scoring unearned runs off of Kraft to take the lead.
Kraft would bounce back well retiring six of the next seven he faced, finishing off the day with seven strikeouts. In the seventh, the Chinooks would blow it open bringing up 10 batters and scoring four runs on three hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch.
Mitch Mueller, the older brother of Lakeshore's start, kept up his siblings' pace pretty well striking out the first six batters he faced in relief before striking out an additional pair to shut the game down in the ninth.
The 20 total strikeouts put a large damper in what was an impactful Monday night win. Kalamazoo and Lakeshore will once again meet Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET.
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