MADISON, Wis. – The Rockford Rivets were the beneficiary of a massive seventh inning collapse by the Madison Mallards bullpen, then almost matched the feat with a collapse of their own before holding on for a wild 10-9 win on Monday afternoon at Warner Park.
After the Rivets took a quick lead after two outs in the first on a throwing error, Madison wasted no time in responding. Nico Hoerner (Stanford) singled and stole second before Nelson Maldonado (Florida) drove him home to tie the game. Zach Jarrett (UNC-Charlotte) then doubled home Maldonado and Cameron Frost (Washington State) doubled Jarrett home for a 3-1 lead.
That was the score until the seventh, when the Mallards bullpen imploded. Jordan Hovey (Missouri State), Kian O’ Brien (Madison Tech), singled before Gavin Johnson (Rice) drove home Hovey with a single, and after two outs, Madison right hander Alex Smith (1-2) walked Hunter Hargrove (Texas Tech) to force in a run. The Mallards brought in left-hander Alex Hintze (UCONN). His first two pitches hit Ryan Long (Texas Tech) and Troy Traxler (Minnesota) to give Rockford a 4-3 lead. Ricardo Ramirez (Illinois-Chicago) then walked and an error scored Hargrove to make it 5-3. Hovey then hit a two-run double and later scored along with Ramirez on an error for a 9-3 lead.
Rockford starter Zach Aring (St. Joseph’s, IN) went seven innings to improve to 3-2 on the year and despite three runs in the eight and the ninth innings, Zach Olszewski (Bethune-Cookman) picked up his ninth save by stranding the tying run at second in the ninth.
The Rivets will wrap up the quick two game series against the Madison Mallards at Rivets Stadium tonight at 6:35. 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.
