TRAVERSE CITY — Big day for Jayden Dentler.
The Traverse City Pit Spitters right-hander committed to Grand Valley State University during the day, then pitched TC to a 7-5 victory over Royal Oak that evening in the second game of Wednesday’s Northwoods League baseball doubleheader at Turtle Creek Stadium in Traverse City.
The win pulls Traverse City a game ahead of the Leprechauns for second place in the second half of the Great Lakes East race, a half game behind first-place Rockford.
If Rockford — which already earned a NWL playoff spot by virtue of taking the first-half title — also wins the second half, the team with the second-place record for the entire season would grab the division’s second playoff spot.
Dentler, an Otsego native, stayed in state his whole college career, throwing for one season at Kellogg Community College, two at Northwood and last season with Western Michigan, where he was 4-2 in 47 innings.
“I didn’t really have any pressure to commit, but it was fun,” Dentler said. “Grand Valley is a great school, close to home. I’m really excited to go play my last year there.”
Dentler said his most innings in a year is around 100 and while he’d like to finish out the Northwoods campaign, he also wants to stay healthy for his senior collegiate season.
He’s thrown 80.2 innings this year between spring and summer.
“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be going,” Dentler said. “I think I’m about ready for a shutdown here soon, but we’ll see. I’m going to talk to (TC field manager Josh Rebandt), and we’ll see what happens.”
Rebandt said he hoped to convince GVSU to let the senior make a few more starts.
Dentler needed just 100 pitches to get through seven innings, allowing only six hits and one walk, while striking out two. Royal Oak scored two off reliever Dominic Mauro and two more off Charlie Wolf.
“The slider first strike was good,” Dentler said. “Had the curveball going early on. I’m not really going to blow by anybody with a fastball. Just have to locate it and get weak contact and get outs to stay efficient. That’s how you go deep in the game. Just get guys out early in the count.”
Royal Oak right-hander Mason Glennie — a former teammate of Dentler’s at Northwood University — departed the game with an apparent separated left shoulder after diving to tag Sokolove in a rundown.
“You hate to see that,” Dentler said. “It stinks.”
The Leprechauns put catcher Collin Overholt in to pitch for Glennie, and Guerra scored for the third time on a wild pitch to go into the ninth up 7-3. Overholt threw 1.2 innings for Ashland University back in 2022 and topped out at 87 mph as Turtle Creek Stadium’s radar gun was in operation for the first time this season.
“I think they were a bit short on arms,” Dentler said of Royal Oak, which moved up from the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League to the Northwoods this season. “These doubleheaders are kind of tough in the Northwoods.”
The Spitters scored in the first when JT Sokolove was hit by a pitch and stole both second and third, eventually coming home when Brett Denby was plunked with the bases loaded
Ethan Guerra scored on an Aaron Piasecki triple to the right-center wall, and Piasecki eventually came home on a Daniel Jackson third-inning groundout.
Jackson drove in his second run with an eighth-inning ground-rule double to score Guerra again. Piasecki scored on a Vahn Lackey sacrifice bunt.
Gavin Balius went all around to third on an error to start the eighth, and came home on on Sokolove’s single to center for a 6-3 lead.
Wolf allowed two ninth-inning runs before retiring the final two hitters as the Spitters held on for a 7-5 victory in front of 1,697 fans.
“It’s always good to get a win in this jersey,” Dentler said. “I love this city. This park is awesome. Fans are awesome. It’s just a fantastic place to play. I’m very thankful to coach Reebs for giving me the opportunity to play here. It’s been absolutely awesome.”
The Spitters lost 5-4 earlier in the day, held to only five hits. Royal Oak squeaked out a win despite just four hits.
Reilly Shafer and Will Croft gave up only two hits in the first seven innings combined, one by Shafer in five frames and one from Croft in two. Mason Hill (0-2) took the loss, allowing single runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
Piasecki had two hits, Sokolove doubles and Trent Reed had the only other hit. Ethan Belk recorded the only RBI, as only two of the Leprechauns’ four runs surrendered were earned.
The two squads play again Thursday at 7:05 p.m. in TC, with Jake Brown (3-0, 4.00) taking the mound for the Spitters.