KALAMAZOO, MI - For most players, the Northwoods League offers a summer tune-up before returning to their college baseball teams in the fall.
For Paw Paw native Jeff Burch, his first season with the Kalamazoo Growlers was more of an audition.
Division-I baseball was always the dream for the left-handed pitcher, but Burch's only college offers coming out of Paw Paw High School were from a pair of Division-II programs -- Hillsdale and Northwood -- and Division-III Kalamazoo College.
He signed with Hillsdale College, and after an up-and-down freshman season that saw him start 11 games and register a 4-5 record, Burch transferred closer to home at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.