FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Make it two wins in a row for the Rockford Rivets, as they beat the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, 6-5, in ten innings Tuesday night for the team’s second series sweep of the season.
It was the Rivets’ (4-4) first extra-inning game of the season, and the Dock Spiders (3-5) didn’t make it easy, but Rockford got the job done.
The Rivets scored first for the second straight night, this time on an RBI single from Neal Tyrell (Lewis) in the second inning, driving in Hunter Feduccia (LSU-Eunice), who walked to lead off the inning. Rockford put up two more on Keith Kerrigan’s (Triton College) two-RBI single.
Clay Moffitt (LSU-Eunice) made his second start of the season and cruised through three hitless, scoreless frames to open the game. Moffitt ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing three singles and a walk, leading to three runs for the Dock Spiders. Moffitt’s night was done after six innings with the game tied 4-4. He allowed the four runs—only three earned—and struck out three batters.
After the Dock Spiders took a 5-4 lead, Rockford got the lead back, 6-5, thanks to a two-out, two-RBI single from Anthony Forte (LSU-Eunice). The Dock Spiders tied the game once again in the bottom of the ninth, 5-5, off Rivets reliever Zack Thomas (Chicago State), to send the game to extras.
Forte doubled to lead off the tenth and came around to score on Ryan Hutchinson’s (Illinois State) fielder’s choice grounder to second base. Thomas stayed in the game to pitch the bottom of the tenth, and after allowing runners to get to second and third with only one out, the lefty got an infield pop-up and a strikeout to end the game. Thomas (2-0) earned the win in relief, while Jordan Bock (Marian University) (0-1) suffered the loss.
The Rockford Rivets are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League, which will play its 24th season of summer collegiate baseball in 2017. The Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 170 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals), two-time World Champion Ben Zobrist (Chicago Cubs) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox), Jordan Zimmermann (Detroit Tigers), Curtis Granderson (New York Mets) and Lucas Duda (Mets). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website, NorthwoodsLeague.com.
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