Pitching Woes Bite Growlers in Loss to Rafters
Published on June 2, 2026 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo Growlers (7-3) struggled off the mound to open Tuesday night's game, falling to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (2-5) by a 7-2 final.
It took two pitches for the score to change as Jax LeGrand sent a solo shot into right-center and give the Rafters an early lead. After another first inning run, Jack Crittendon reached 35 pitches in one inning, ending his night.
The Kalamazoo offense answered with one run in the bottom of the first, but had no answer to the Rafters two second or fourth inning runs that gave the visitors a 6-1 lead.
On the Rafters side, Cade Queen went five innings of two-run ball while striking out eight in a crucial bounce-back start. In his relief, Braden Burness and Blaine Davis struck-out a combined eight more Growlers, as the nights total finished at 16.
After Crittendons exit, Kalamazoo turned to Logan Cotton, Coleman Morrison, and Bryce Brannon who combined for seven innings of five run ball before Dylan Wipf made his season debut and threw a 1-2-3 ninth.
The deciding factor may have been the 16-5 Growler strikeout-walk ratio at the plate, with the Rafters largely shutting down what had made Kalamazoo so successful through their last three games.
Kalamazoo and Wisconsin Rapids play the second half of the two game set during the Growler's final education day of 2026, with first pitch scheduled for 10:05 a.m. Wednesday morning.
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