Ryan Hutchnson round third base in the 5th inning Sunday against Battle Creek. The Bombers got another one by Rockford, 4-3. Photo courtesy of Doug Timmermann and JK Richards Photography.
LOVES PARK, Ill. – Coming into Sunday’s game, the Rivets had already lost two one-run games to the Battle Creek Bombers.
Rockford lost their third one-run game to the Bombers Sunday afternoon as the Rivets (15-11) dropped another home game. Battle Creek (15-11) reliever Jake Hawken (Portland, 3-1) got the win and Brandon Nowak (Oakton, 0-1) took the loss for Rockford.
Rockford starter Brad Littleton (Indiana) was able to get some early run support to start the game. In the 2nd inning, JC DeMuri (Quincy) scored on a Zach Rheams (Texas Tech) single. Jeremy Houston (Indiana) also came around to give the Rivets a 2-0 lead.
Littleton looked strong early on in the game, but Battle Creek struck when Jordan Getzelman (Menlo College) drove in Cale Hennemann (Memphis) with an RBI single in the 3rd to cut Rockford’s lead in half.
The Bombers got on the board again with a pair of runs in the 5th. After Alec Trela (Memphis) doubled with one out, Alex Howard (Arkansas State) brought him home with an RBI single. Howard later scored in the inning to give Battle Creek their first lead, 3-2.
But Rockford quickly tied the ballgame in the bottom half of the 5th. Eric Cole’s (Arkansas) single with two outs allowed Ryan Hutchinson (Illinois State) to score all the way from first base and even the score at 3-3.
Nowak looked impressive pitching the 6th and 7th innings in relief of Littleton, but Battle Creek finally managed a hit off him in the 8th. Nick Walker (Austin Peay) singled, stole second base, and reached third on a subsequent Rockford throwing error. Jacob Blunt (Clarke) brought him home with an RBI single to give Battle Creek the lead once again, 4-3.
In the 9th, Rockford showed signs of life. With one out and down by one run, Nate Montgomery (South Suburban) singled and Hutchinson walked to put the Rivets in a position to get a walk off win. However, Trevor Paradoski (Texas Tech) and Neal Tyrell (Lewis) were unable to drive them in, and Battle Creek secured another victory against Rockford.
The Rivets have one more home game before they hit the road for a short two-game trip to Battle Creek. Tomorrow’s game is a 6:35 p.m. first pitch with gates opening at 5:35 p.m., and the next home game will be on June 29 against Kenosha for Thirsty 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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