BATTLE CREEK, Mich – The Rockford Rivets came back from not one, but two multiple run deficits, but it was a Cody Sporrer (UC-Riverside) two-run home run in the seventh that decided the game as the Battle Creek Bombers beat the Rivets 7-5 at C.O Brown Stadium.
After Battle Creek took a 2-0 lead against Rivets starter Trevor Kiminski (Indian Hills CC) in the first, Rockford answered in the second. Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove doubled before Ryan Long, also from Texas Tech, hit a no-doubt two-run home run to right field to tie the game at 2-2.
Neither team would record another hit until Battle Creek retook the lead with a three run sixth inning. Again the Rivets would respond in the seventh. David Cronin (Illinois-Chicago) and Hargrove singled before Long drove both in with a double. Gavin Johnson (Rice) then singled home Long to tie the game at 5.
But in the bottom half, Dean Miller (Riverside City College) singled before Sporrer connected off of Arkansas’ Kacey Murphy (2-1) on a long home run to left center that proved to make Davenport’s Krystien Johnson-Battilana (5-1) a winner. Brandon Guske (Freed-Hardeman) recorded his ninth save by getting the final four outs.
The Rivets will open a two game home-and-home series against Lakeshore at home on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. 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 150 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.
