Green Bay secured the first half of the Great Lakes West division with win and loss by Wisconsin Rapids Monday night
Madison, Wis.- The Green Bay Rockers are heading back to the Northwoods League playoffs by officially capturing the first half crown of the Great Lakes West division, after defeating the Madison Mallards 3-1 Monday night at Warner Park.
Along with a loss by the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, the Rockers secured a playoff bid following Monday night’s action, as they finished the first half with a 21-15 record, a half game above the Rafters for first place in the divisional race.
Green Bay is now one of four teams to have a playoff berth clinched along with the Traverse City Pit Spitters, Eau Claire Express, and Willmar Stingers, and will now look to second half play with a trip to the postseason already locked up for the Rockers.
As for Monday night’s game, each team traded zeros in the first inning with the bottom of the first featuring a scoreless frame from Kyle Stoddard (Missouri Southern State), as despite two runners going on base for Madison, Stoddard retired the side while not allowing a run.
Following a 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning from Stoddard, the Rockers got their first base runner on of the game in the third on a two-out single from Cooper Kelly (Kansas), but a great catch from Mike Gupton (NC State) in left field kept it a 0-0 game through two and a half innings of play.
In the bottom of the third, the Mallards took a 1-0 lead off a solo home run from Davis Hamilton (North Dakota State), as his homer to right put Madison ahead by one heading into the fourth at Warner Park.
After each team went scoreless in the fourth inning, Jacob Faulkner (Princeton) threw a shutout fifth inning of relief with his first 2.1 innings pitched being scoreless, and the Rockers went into the sixth still searching for their first run down by only one to the Mallards.
Green Bay took their first lead of the night at 3-1 following a solo homer from Kendal Ewell (Kentucky) and a two-RBI double from Jayson Jones (Arkansas) with these two timely hits putting the Rockers ahead by two through five and a half innings of play.
After Faulkner and Tyler Horvath (Case Western Reserve) pitched a combined scoreless bottom of the sixth inning, Horvath retired all three batters he faced in order in the seventh to keep Green Bay ahead by two going into the eighth.
In the eighth inning, it was Riley who got the Rockers out of a jam, as he kept two Mallards left on base with Green Bay still leading by two approaching the ninth at Warner Park.
Michael Riley (Gateway Community College) secured the victory for Green Bay in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning, paving the way for the Rockers to punch their ticket to the postseason, as the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders went on to defeat the Rafters 6-2 to seal the day for Green Bay.
The Rockers are now set to begin second half play Tuesday afternoon when they host the Lakeshore Chinooks at Capital Credit Union Park. First pitch from Ashwaubenon is set for 1:05 p.m.
Single game tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office and Team Apparel Fan Shop at Capital Credit Union Park are located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
