LOVES PARK, Ill. – Four errors proved costly to the Rockford Rivets in an 8-5 loss to the Madison Mallards Thursday at Rivets Stadium.

Gerry Salisbury (0-1) took the loss, despite not allowing an earned run. Kevin Berge (1-0) picked up the win in relief, while Alex Smith earned his first save.

Ricardo Ramirez was 3-for-4 with two RBI, a walk and a stolen base in a losing effort for Rockford.

The Rivets took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, but could not hold on. Madison scored four times in the eighth inning. The Mallards scored the go-ahead run when right fielder Brendan Rivera dropped a two-out fly ball.

The Rivets and Mallards will take their series to Madison at 6:35 p.m. Friday for the second game. Broadcasts and live streams can be found at NorthwoodsLeague.com. The Rivets’ next home game is at 6:35 p.m. Monday, when they host the Lakeshore Chinooks on Office Night.

Rockford is a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League, which will play its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016. The Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 140 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox), Jordan Zimmermann (Detroit Tigers), Curtis Granderson (New York Mets), Lucas Duda (Mets) and Ben Zobrist (Chicago Cubs). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website, NorthwoodsLeague.com. For more information, visit RockfordRivets.com.