TRAVERSE CITY — Don’t look now, but the Traverse City Pit Spitters are warming up.
Well, it might be a good idea to look now and pay attention to northern Michigan’s Northwoods League team as the Pit Spitters have now won three straight after starting the 2024 campaign with an uncharacteristic Opening Day loss.
The Pit Spitters (3-1) used a late surge to put away Kokomo (0-4) and snuff out any embers that could have ignited a Jackrabbits comeback in a 10-5 win at Turtle Creek Stadium on Thursday.
The Pit Spitters built a 5-0 lead after scoring three in the third and two in the fourth, but Kokomo finally got on the board in the top of the seventh and then scored three more in the eighth to cut the deficit to just one at 5-4.
The Traverse City hitters must have been chewing Doublemint gum in the bottom half of the eighth — and they didn’t spit it out as their moniker would suggest — as the Pit Spitters doubled their score with a five-run inning for a 10-4 advantage.
Brandon Chang got things started with a one-out single to center in the eighth and then scored on back-to-back singles from Trent Reed and JT Sokolove.
Reed and Sokolove took advantage of some sloppy play from the Jackrabbits, scoring on an error after a sacrifice bunt from Ethan Guerra to quickly push the lead back to 8-4.
Corey Berry walked on four pitches and then stole second base on the first pitch thrown to Brody Capps, putting Berry in scoring position. Capps took advantage and brought home the pair of ducks on the pond with a single on a 2-0 pitch to put the Spitters in double digits in the run column.
Dominic Mauro came on in relief to close out the ninth inning and seal the victory. Mauro got into a little bit of trouble, allowing one run on two hits, two walks and a wild pitch. But he was able to get out of the jam, striking out two and getting a groundout on a comebacker from Kokomo’s Kristian Noriega to end the game.
Ryan Daly picked up the win on the mound for Traverse City, his first as a member of the Pit Spitters. The 6-foot-5 righty from Plainfield, Illinois, threw six innings of three-hit, shutout ball with nine strikeouts and just one walk.
Guerra and Capps each finished the day with three RBI. Guerra went 2 for 4 with two runs as well. Sokolove was 2 for 3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
The Pit Spitters’ three runs in the third all came without the benefit of a hit. Reed scored on a wild pitch. Sokolove scored on Capps’ groundout, and Guerra crossed home on an error.
Mike Long also scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning after reaching on an error, and Ty Meadows scored an unearned run after reaching on a walk and coming home on a Guerra single.
More than 3,900 people filed into Turtle Creek Stadium on Thursday morning to watch the Pit Spitters get the two-game sweep after Wednesday’s home opener that saw Traverse City edge out Kokomo by a 2-1 final.
The Pit Spitters close out their May slate of games by starting a two-game set as the Kalamazoo Growlers come to Turtle Creek Stadium on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Saturday’s game also starts 7:05 p.m., and then the Pit Spitters go on the road to Kalamazoo for the second half of a home-and-home before welcoming the Lakeshore Chinooks and Kenosha Kingfish next week.