TRAVERSE CITY — The Traverse City Pit Spitters have long waited for a weekend like this.
The struggling team from the Northwoods League Great Lakes East Division can start July on a good note after beating Kalamazoo Growlers 9-4 on Friday night, 5-4 in walk-off home run from Aaron Piasecki against Battle Creek Battle Jacks on Saturday night, but fell short 7-2 on Sunday evening to split the series against the Battle Jacks.
The wins over the weekend helped Traverse City (16-17) creep closer to being above .500 for the first time since early June. However, the Pit Spitters remain 8.5 games behind Rockford Rivets (25-9) for first place.
The Pit Spitters collected 11 hits as a squad on Friday night in Kalamazoo with Jayden Dentler (2-1, 1.31 ERA) collecting the win after going six innings while allowing one hit on six hits and striking out two with one walk.
The Spitters jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the Growlers in the third inning and added six more runs in the fourth to go ahead 7-0 to put the game out of reach.
The Pit Spitters relied on three pitchers in their bullpen who combined for three earned runs on two hits with two strikeouts and walking three.
Friday’s win puts the Traverse City 6-2 overall in the 313 Rivalry Series against Kalamazoo.
Piasecki was the star on Saturday night at Turtle Creek Stadium by starting things off with a 1-0 RBI single in the first inning, and Vahn Lackey extended the lead 2-0 off an RBI single.
The Battle Jacks responded with runs in the second and third to go ahead 3-2 and added another run in the sixth to lead 4-2, but the Pit Spitters didn’t quit.
Right-hander Jake Brown (2-0, 4.50 ERA) took the mound on Saturday and went 5.1 innings while allowing four runs on nine hits, walking three and striking out two.
Brett Rozman sent a deep shot to right field for a two-run RBI triple to tie it 4-4 in the eighth inning. Left-hander Santiago Garcia (1-0, 3.86 ERA) was credited with the win after pitching a clean sheet in the ninth inning.
Piasecki sent his first home run of the season to right field on a 0-1 count to guide the Pit Spitters to a 5-4 win.
Traverse City started Sunday’s matchup against Battle Creek with a 2-0 lead in the second inning after an RBI double from Michael Tchavdarov.
Carson Fischer (record, ERA) is a sight to see when he’s pitching. Fischer, in the first three innings, had five strikeouts with zero hits and walks. The Battle Jacks broke through in the sixth inning and unleashed three runs to go ahead 3-2.
Fischer finished the game pitching 6.2 innings while allowing five earned runs on four hits, striking out seven, and walking two on 107 pitches.
The Battle Jacks added more runs in the seventh and eighth to extend their lead 7-2. Traverse City tried to mount another comeback like Saturday but fell short.
The Pit Spitters return to Turtle Creek Stadium on Monday to welcome the Rockford Rivets, with the first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.