WILLMAR, Minn – The Willmar Stingers used three big swings and one big inning late to send the Rockford Rivets to their eighth straight loss, 8-1 on Saturday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.
After the Rivets broke the ice with an unearned run in the third, Dylan Woods (Nova Southeastern) launched the second pitch of the bottom half over the left center field wall to tie the game at 1. In the fourth, Eddie Estrada (Minnesota) singled and Kole Cottom (Kentucky) launched a two-run home run to the exact same area to give Willmar a 3-1 lead.
The Stingers weren’t done with the long ball, either, as in the sixth inning Danny Mayer (Pacific) teed off on Rivets starter Cory Wright (Parkland CC) to dead center field for a 4-1 lead. That was more than enough for Stingers starter Brad Schaenzer (Kentucky), who went eight innings to go to 2-1 on the season.
In the eighth, Willmar put the game away. Wright (4-3) got the Rivets’ fourth double play of the game after another run had scored, but then walked Cottom. Matt Vanek (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) then relieved Wright, but gave up a two-run single to Brandon Perez (USC), who would also score later in the inning to make it 8-1.
The Rivets will wrap up the two game series against the Willmar Stingers at Bill Taunton Stadium on Sunday night at 6:05. 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.
