Pit Spitters Take 11 of 12 from Growlers with Sunday Victory
Northwoods Traverse City Pit Spitters

Pit Spitters Take 11 of 12 from Growlers with Sunday Victory

Published on July 19, 2026 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Traverse City Pit Spitters News Release


Traverse City, MI - Ethan Guerra reached a career milestone at the plate and five Traverse City pitchers repeatedly worked out of trouble Sunday afternoon, leading the Pit Spitters to a 7-4 victory over the Kalamazoo Growlers at Turtle Creek Stadium.

The win was Traverse City's 11th consecutive against its I-131 rival, completing an 11-1 season series.

Sean Martinez finished 3-for-3, completing the two-game set with five hits, three extra-base hits and four RBIs. Zach Kucharczyk reached safely nine times during the series, including a 2-for-4 performance Sunday.

Traverse City improved to 10-5 and moved into a tie with Royal Oak atop the Great Lakes East second-half standings with 21 games remaining in the regular season.

The Pit Spitters scored once in each of the first two innings. JT Smith drew a bases-loaded walk in the first before Lucas Grantham delivered an RBI double in the second.

Kalamazoo scored against starter Caleb Kidd in the third but stranded the bases loaded. The Growlers loaded them again in the fourth and came away empty, part of 11 runners left on base during the afternoon.

Kidd completed 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out one.

Traverse City created separation with three runs in the fourth, using two hits and a Kalamazoo error to extend its lead to 5-1.

Guerra opened the rally with an RBI single, giving him 43 RBIs through 51 games this summer. The total surpassed his previous Northwoods League career high of 42, set across 59 games in 2024.

Callum Early followed with a run-scoring groundout before Martinez added an RBI single--his fourth RBI of the series.

Cody Freitas allowed two runs, one earned, across 1.1 innings but prevented further damage and earned his first victory of the season in his ninth appearance.

The Pit Spitters added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth. Smith collected his second RBI with a single before Guerra added another run-scoring hit to complete the Traverse City scoring.

Noah Reeves worked 1.1 scoreless innings before Mason Pilarski followed with 1.2 shutout frames, carrying the lead into the ninth.

All-Star reliever Charlie Wolf handled the final inning. Kalamazoo pushed across one run, but Wolf finished the 7-4 victory and secured the season-series finale.

The Growlers have not won at Turtle Creek Stadium since June 12, 2025--a drought of 402 days that will now extend through the offseason.

The Pit Spitters have a scheduled day off Monday before beginning their longest road trip of the summer, a six-game swing that includes stops in Battle Creek and Richmond. Traverse City returns home Sunday, July 26, to face the Rockford Rivets.

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Northwoods League Stories from July 19, 2026


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