LOVES PARK, Ill. – The Rockford Rivets were held to six hits by three Battle Creek pitchers and shut out, 6-0, on Tuesday at Rivets Stadium.

 

Krystien Johnson-Battilana (2-1), the second pitcher of the trio of Bombers earned the win for Battle Creek after allowing only one hit in three innings.

 

Though the Rivets combined for four errors, a passed ball and an unearned run on Tuesday, the Rockford defense limited the damage when Battle Creek loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth inning. Nick Podkul broke the scoreless tie, but at the expense of grounding into a double play.

 

Battle Creek padded the lead with two runs in the fifth inning and three in the seventh. In the fifth inning, with a runner on and one out, the Rivets’ stint of overthrows and ricochets began when starting pitcher Nick Drahozal fielded Cody Sporrer’s grounder, but threw it in the dirt past first baseman Ricardo Ramirez. A second error on the play brought home both the runner and Sporrer.

 

Drahozal (2-2) gave up five earned runs on nine hits over six-plus innings and took the loss.

 

The Rivets play the Madison Mallards at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Rivets Stadium in the opener of a split-site, day-night doubleheader. The nightcap is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Warner Park in Madison. For the morning game, a $10 ticket includes a voucher for a hot dog, soda, and a bag of chips. Broadcasts and live streams can be found at NorthwoodsLeague.com.

 

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.