Beavers Hold Off Mammoths, 3-1
UTICA, Mich. – The Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers (12-10) used timely hitting and strong pitching to earn a 3-1 victory over the Westside Woolly Mammoths (15-19) in Saturday’s first game at UWM Field.
After three scoreless innings, the Beavers broke through in the fourth before adding two more runs in the fifth to build a 3-0 lead. Matt Piotrowski highlighted the inning with an RBI double, while Kaehukai Young and Derek Gellos each drove in a run to give Birmingham all the offense it would need.
The Mammoths answered in the top of the fifth when Kyle Revere ripped an RBI double to score Corbin Shaw, trimming the deficit to 3-1. Westside threatened again in the sixth by bringing the tying run to the plate, but Birmingham reliever Spencer Smith retired the side to earn the save.
Blake Johnson picked up the win after allowing just one run on two hits over five innings while striking out two. Smith closed out the final inning, surrendering two hits but keeping the Mammoths off the scoreboard. Westside starter Daniel Barcena was charged with the loss despite allowing only two hits over 4.1 innings, striking out five.
The Mammoths managed four hits in the contest, with Revere, Chase Jans, Jordan Viars, and Tommy Stevenson each recording a hit. Birmingham collected just two hits but capitalized on four walks, two hit batters, and aggressive baserunning to secure the win.