2-Run Home Run in the 10th Send Kalamazoo Growlers To Northwoods Championship
The Kalamazoo Growlers are headed to the Northwoods League World Series after a stunning victory in a hard-fought contest Wednesday, August 17th when they took on the Wisconsin River Rapids in Wisconsin, and the win came in dramatic fashion. The game, which was broadcast on ESPN+ was a neck and neck battle, which took an extra inning to decide the outcome. Ultimately it was the Kalamazoo Growlers who would go on to make history, becoming the Great Lakes Division Champions for the first time ever, as their reporter describes the epic moment:
It took extra innings to decide the Great Lakes Division champion. It was the Growlers first baseman Casen Taggart who provided the biggest hit of the Growlers season, and maybe the biggest in Growlers history. Taggart blasted a two-strike pitch over the right field fence in the top of the 10th inning to give the Growlers the 8-6 lead. Growlers pitcher Tyler Johnson sealed the game in dominant fashion in the bottom of the 10th.
It All Comes Down To This
A couple of swings of the bat, solid defense, and 27 outs are all the Growlers need to accomplish what they've been on the prowl for, since the beginning, they will become the Northwoods League Champions for the first time in franchise history. But first, they'll be heading to Duluth, Minnesota to play a one-game winner take all Championship against the Duluth Huskies in the Northwoods League World Series, Thursday night at 7:35 pm eastern time. The game will once again be streamed on ESPN+.
Why An Away Game?
In the Northwoods League, home field advantage goes to the team with the best overall record. Amazingly, Duluth & Kalamazoo had the same exact wins in both the regular and post-season. Since both teams clinched a playoff birth in the first half and Kalamazoo had the better overall record in that first half, it was the thought of this author that maybe the home game would come back to Kalamazoo. Sadly, the tie breaker is which team won the all-star game, which the Growlers representing team did not. Either way, it's been an amazing year and we'll all be watching and rooting for the Growlers to bring the title home.