WAUSAU, WI. – The Wisconsin Woodchucks used runs in the seventh and ninth innings on Saturday to down the Rockford Rivets 4-3 at Athletic Park in Wausau
Wisconsin RHP Gordon Cardenas (1-0), the sixth Woodchucks pitcher of the night, collected the win, while Nick McKinney (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing the game-winning run in the ninth inning when the Rivets could not complete a double play with runners on the corners and one out.
After the Rivets took the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Jacob Vander Wal, Woodchucks left fielder Stevie Mangrum broke an 0-for-12 start to the season with a solo HR to left off of RHP Riley Pawelski.
The Rivets would jump ahead 2-0 in the third thanks to an RBI single by Vander Wal and a sacrifice fly by Neal Tyrell. Wisconsin would answer with two runs of their own in the bottom half, thanks to an RBI single by Steve Passatempo and run-scoring groundout by Tyler Krabbe
The Rivets will wrap up their series against the Wisconsin Woodchucks at 3:05 p.m. Sunday for the opening 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.