TRAVERSE CITY — The hope is to have enough of a roster by Monday to play a full nine innings.
By Wednesday’s home opener, things should be a bit more set.
The Traverse City Pit Spitters are battling college teams still playing in the postseason as their own regular season kicks off on Memorial Day in Kalamazoo against Growlers.
The Spitters start the home slate Wednesday against Rockford, kicking things off with fireworks, and likely a bigger roster.
“I’ve been on the phone a lot,” second-year field manager Todd Reid said. “A bit of anxiety in terms of who’s going to be able to to make it to Traverse City for the home opener, or who’s going to be on the road with us to Kalamazoo on Monday.”
Currently, the Spitters have eight position players lined up for Monday’s opener. That number could grow over the holiday weekend as collegiate teams are eliminated from the playoffs.
The Northwoods League — a college wood bat league sprawled out across the Midwest — starts play Monday, with the Pit Spitters going into their ninth season.
“It just feels like home to me,” Reid said. “I drive up from south of Chicago at Olivet Nazarene University, where I teach, and get to about Cadillac, and just feel like I’m home. The air changes a little bit, sky opens up, and I just love being up here in the summer.”
The NWL allows pitchers to be used in the designated hitter spot to provide more flexibility in the early and late season, when teams commonly have players coming and going. Another catcher, JT Smith from Wofford College is expected to make it for Monday’s opener, potentially giving the team at least nine position players.
Returner Jake Brown is slated to start the opener Monday, with another returning player, Max Hammond, slated to take the mount for Wednesday’s home opener. Both pitch for Central Michigan University.
Nathan Webb, who has a 4.44 earned-run average in 24.1 innings last year, is schedules to pitch behind Brown on Monday.
The short turn-around for reporting Friday to playing Monday afternoon isn’t something new for players like Webb.
“We’re kind of used to it,” Webb said. “We have a bunch of guys that they’re just coming off season, so it’s really not that crazy an adjustment for us.”
Traverse City natives Josh Klug (Michigan State) and Jack Griffiths (Central Michigan) are expected to join the team’s pitching staff later.
“I really like the fan base. It’s great,” returning relief pitcher Charlie Wolf said. “You come on a random Tuesday and there’s still 1,00, 1,500 fans cheering your name, yelling when I’m coming in from the bullpen. That’s what has kept me coming back a few times. Coach T’s been here all three years I’ve been here, and the camaraderie that he brings with him, and he makes the game really fun, so I just love that.”
Wolf didn’t pitch past July 18 last season, dealing with some elbow issues. He threw 22 innings this spring with Princeton, striking out 18.
Ethan Guerra returns to Traverse City after playing here in 2024. He played for Wausau in the Northwoods last season, then the Appalachian League later on.
“I just like the environment out here, it’s really cool,” Guerra said. “Get a lot of fans, nice facilities. It makes it a lot easier.”
Guerra played for Arizona last and is currently in the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
Mason Hill returns as pitching coach after joining the coaching staff midway through last season. He began last season as a pitcher, left after two appearances to sign a professional contract and came back when a coaching staff spot opened up, making him the first person to player for and coach on the team in the same campaign.
The former Spitters hurler also has former teammate Aaron Forrest to lean on, as both pitched with the franchise.
“We have a bunch of returners that have actually played with him and me,” Hill said. “Having guys that have shown that they can go indie ball route or sign elsewhere, and we know the lay of the land for the Northwoods and can help them work that out.”
Forrest joins the staff, helping where needed, sometimes with pitchers and sometimes with the offense.
Muskegon native Ryan Gillings returns as the other assistant, and has extensive experience working with catchers and hitters.
“My whole career I’ve been a pitcher, so that’s a world that I know very well,” Forrest said. “This is going to be a massive learning experience for me. We have a lot of experience on the coaching staff, and I’m really excited to start picking brains and see what the other side of the game looks like.”
New to the Great Lakes East Division this summer are the Richmond Flying Mummies and a 2027 expansion team in New Buffalo would also presumably join the Great Lakes East next year. The Dune Coast team will play at New Buffalo High School and build a new stadium at the school, according to the team’s website.
With the Mummies’ addition, the travel-only Minnesota Mud Puppies also return to give the league an even 26 franchises. The Mummies’ base of Richmond, Indiana, is home of the Frontier League’s Richmond Roosters, the franchise that was purchased and turned into the Traverse City Beach Bums from 2006-18, before the team was sold and became the current Pit Spitters.
Another expansion team in Dyersville, Iowa has been approved for the 2027 at the site of the movie Field of Dreams, with the NWL’s All-Star Game being played there this summer.
“Really, really excited about that,” Reid said. “I know the guys are pumped. We certainly have had a history of having good representation at the All-Star Game.”
Also starting this season, streaming subscription service FloSports replaces NWL+ as the league’s streaming partner for game video. The Spitters’ Andy Henderson will be on play-by-play.