Pit Spitters Drop First-Half Finale, Turn Page to Second-Half Race
Northwoods Traverse City Pit Spitters

Pit Spitters Drop First-Half Finale, Turn Page to Second-Half Race

Published on June 29, 2026 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Traverse City Pit Spitters News Release


Kenosha, WI - The Traverse City Pit Spitters fell to the Kenosha Kingfish, 7-4, on Monday night at Historic Simmons Field in the finale of the Northwoods League first-half schedule.

With the loss, Traverse City was eliminated from Great Lakes East First-Half title contention, finishing the half with a 21-15 record.

Kenosha clinched the division at 21-14, securing its first postseason berth since 2018.

The Pit Spitters fought until the final inning, bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth and forcing a Kenosha pitching change while trailing by three, but the Kingfish held on to close out the title.

Traverse City now shifts its focus to the second half of the 36-game schedule, where the Pit Spitters will need to win the half to reach the postseason for the sixth time in franchise history. Records reset Tuesday night, with the new slate beginning at Turtle Creek Stadium.

Colin Sander made noise early for Traverse City as the two division foes traded blows out of the gate. With two outs in the first inning, Sander roped a two-run single to right field to put the Pit Spitters on the board immediately.

The lead did not make it out of the first, as Kenosha answered with three runs against Traverse City starter Kyle Timko. Timko finished with 3.2 innings pitched and four earned runs allowed.

Sander was not finished. He recorded his third RBI of the night in the third inning, cranking a solo shot down the right-field line for his third home run of 2026.

Kenosha answered again in the bottom half, as Brian Gould launched a solo homer to put the Kingfish back in front, 4-3.

In the fourth, Jacob Kucharczyk lifted a sacrifice fly to score Josh Stonehouse and tie the game at 4-4.

From there, Kenosha scored three unanswered runs across three different frames to take control. The Kingfish plated one run in the fifth, one in the sixth, and one in the seventh, with the runs charged to Charlie Wolf, Alex Alberico, and David Heefner, respectively.

Traverse City used six arms on the night, including Timko, Gabe Helder, Wolf, Alberico, Heefner, and Max Hammond.

The Pit Spitters rallied in the ninth, as a Zach Kucharczyk walk and an Ethan Guerra single brought the tying run to the plate with one out. Sotaro Ishida entered and recorded the save for Kenosha.

The Pit Spitters (0-0) and Kingfish (0-0) will begin the second-half schedule Tuesday night at Turtle Creek Stadium, as the back half of the four-game series shifts to Traverse City.

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Northwoods League Stories from June 29, 2026


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