Hunter Feduccia rounds the bases after hitting a 3-run home run Saturday night. Rockford went on to win 5-4 against the Green Bay Bullfrogs. Photo Courtesy of Doug Timmermann and JK Richards Photography.
LOVES PARK, Ill. – The Rivets looked like they might let another slip away on a rainy night, but they managed their fourth victory against the Bullfrogs in as many tries Saturday night.
Clay Moffitt (LSU-Eunice) pitched 7 1/3 innings, Hunter Feduccia (LSU) homered, and Dylan Stutsman (Indianapolis) got the five-out save in a 5-4 victory for Rockford over Green Bay in front of Rockford's largest-ever crowd.
The Rivets were in a hole early. Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt) led off the 1st with a single and Aaron Pleschner (San Jose State) had a single of his own before Troy Johnston (Gonzaga) brought both home with an RBI double to take the 2-0 lead.
In the 2nd, Moffitt got a bit of run support. After Ryan Hutchinson (Illinois State) singled and Brian Klein (Texas Tech) walked, Hunter Feduccia hit his first home run of the year into the right field porch and Rockford went up 3-2.
Moffitt settled in after giving up the first two runs to the Bullfrogs. He got through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th without giving up a run. But Green Bay showed more signs of life in the 5th, when Ben Hart (Oakland) got a one-out triple and Grant Frazer (Central Michigan) evened the score 3-3 with an RBI single.
Rockford quickly regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Feduccia came home off a Trevor Paradoski (Texas Tech) single, and Paradoski scored when Hutchinson got a single of his own for the 5-3 Rockford lead.
Moffitt made it into the 8th before he ran into more trouble. Three straight Bullfrog singles allowed Jones to score with two men still on base. Stutsman came in the game to strike out the final two batters and preserve Rockford’s 5-4 lead heading into the 9th.
Stutsman continued his dominance out of the bullpen with a five-out save as Rockford improved to 15-10, while the Bullfrogs dropped to 9-16 on the year.
The Rivets have two more home games before they hit the road for a short two-game trip. Tomorrow’s game is a 4:05 p.m. first pitch with gates opening at 3:05 p.m., and Monday’s game is the standard 6:35 p.m. start time. Both home games are against Battle Creek, and the Rivets travel to Battle Creek for two more games against the Bombers before returning Thursday. 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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