Kalamazoo, Mich. – Just a win away from its second trip to the Great Lakes Championship Game in franchise history, the Kalamazoo Growlers fell flat 18-11 to the Rockford Rivets.

For a second straight game, the Rivets opened up the scoring. After a run on a double play in game one, a pair of errors on a throw to second to bring home TJ Williams and an Ivan Dahlberg RBI double put the Rivets up 2-0 in the first.

The struggling start for Adam Berghorst took him out of the ballgame after just his first inning as Kalamazoo for a second straight game went to its bullpen early.

After a scoreless second, K-Zoo would answer with a five-run third helped out by three hits, another sacrifice squeeze from Savi Delgado, and a pair of Rivet’s errors.

After one punch from the Growlers, the Rivets answered in a big way in the third. After a walk and a pair of hit-by-pitches, a bloop single and bases-loaded walk pushed the Rivets back within one without an out even recorded.

After a lineout to short and an RBI single to tie the ballgame up, Jergins was pulled for Ben Reimers. After a ground ball out to bring home another run, a two-run double by JR Nelson put Rockford back up by three.

After a Growlers run in the fourth, the Rivets blew the game open with 10 unanswered runs between the fifth and seventh. The Growlers answered behind a three-run home run in the eighth and a pair in the ninth but that would not be enough.

In a win-or-go-home matchup at Rivets Stadium, the Growlers and Rivets square off once again in game three of the Great Lakes East Championship Series on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7:35 p.m. ET.