LOVES PARK, Ill. – It didn’t take long for the Rivets to bounce back from their three-game losing streak, and an outstanding start from Jack Granath didn’t hurt their cause.
Granath (4-1) pitched 7 2/3 innings and the Rivets gave him plenty of run support as Rockford (14-10) downed the Green Bay Bullfrogs (9-15) by a final score of 10-3 on Friday night. Rockford teed off on Bullfrogs starter Jared Tobey (1-2) as they returned to Rivets Stadium for the first game of a four-game home stand.
The Rivets were the first to strike. In the bottom of the 2nd, Brian Klein (Texas Tech) drove in Eric Cole (Arkansas) with an RBI double to give Rockford a 1-0 lead.
Granath was in command early in the game, and he was perfect through five innings. In the bottom of the 5th, the Rivets’ offense finally gave him more run support.
In the 5th, Tobey loaded the bases after walking Bren Spillane (Illinois), and a subsequent walk to JC DeMuri (Quincy) allowed Ryan Hutchinson (Illinois State) to come home. Eric Cole (Arkansas) and Nate Montgomery (South Suburban) each added two RBI and Neal Tyrell (Lewis) added an RBI of his own as the Rivets went up 8-0 with a seven-run 5th.
Granath’s perfect game bid finally ended in the 6th. Willie Bourbon (Northwestern) got a one-out liner just out of reach of the second baseman Klein, and Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt) hit a long drive into the right field porch to cut the Rivets’ lead to 8-2.
Rockford did not score for a few innings, and Green Bay finally showed some more life on offense in the 8th. After a Rockford fielding error, Jones added an RBI triple off Granath with two outs to cut the lead to 8-3 and end Granath’s night.
Rockford refused to let this one slip away, and added more runs of their own in the 8th. Cole drove in John Rave (Illinois State) with an RBI single and Tyrell brought Spillane home on a fielder’s choice to extend the lead to 10-3.
Brian Wichman (Indianapolis) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings in relief of Granath, and Rockford secured its third victory in three tries against Green Bay.
The Rivets’ next game is tomorrow, Saturday, June 24 for First Responders Night, where local heroes and their families will be honored. The game will be followed by fireworks presented by Specialty Screw and Geostar Mechanical – you won’t want to miss it! Don’t forget to order your Rivets tickets today by calling the Rockford Rivets ticket office at 815.240.4159.
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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