Patrick Loeffler makes a sliding stop on Monday night against the Battle Creek Bombers. The Rivets lost their fourth game to the Bombers this season, 3-2. Photo courtesy of Doug Timmermann and JK Richards Photography.
LOVES PARK, Ill. – The Rockford Rivets haven’t been able to figure out the Battle Creek Bombers yet this year.
Rockford stranded nine runners on base, Battle Creek got a timely triple play, and Trent Johnson (Tulane, 2-0) pitched seven strong innings to lead the Bombers (16-11) to a 3-2 victory against Rockford (15-12) on Monday night.
The Bombers were able to get on the board in the 2nd inning off Rockford starter Jeffrey Barton (Illinois State, 1-3). Jordan Getzelman (Menlo College) started the inning off with a broken-bat double and Nick Walker’s RBI double later in the inning gave the Bombers an early 1-0 lead.
Rockford couldn’t get much going on offense, giving Barton no run support despite getting men on base in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings. Barton pitched well, but Battle Creek was able to slowly increase their lead.
Getzelman led off the 4th with a single, stole second base, and reached third on a balk by Barton. Walker then drove him in again for a 2-0 Battle Creek lead. In the 5th, Nick Vasic (McHenry County College) was able to reach base on a throwing error and scored all the way from second base on a groundout by Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech) to increase Battle Creek’s lead to 3-0.
Rockford finally looked like they might inch closer in the bottom of the 5th. Patrick Loeffler (Indiana) and Trevor Paradoski (Texas Tech) singled to start the inning, but Johnson got Neal Tyrell (Lewis) to line right at the first baseman Stoffel, who stepped on first and threw to the short stop Alex Howard (Arkansas State) for a triple play to end the inning.
Rockford did manage a run in the 7th, when Paradoski drove in his college teammate Brian Klein with a two-out double to bring the Rivets within two runs.
Rockford looked like they might even tie the game in the 9th. Klein came home on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Paradoski, and Loefller and Ryan Hutchinson (Indiana) both got on base with two outs. But Zach Rheams (Texas Tech) struck out to end the game and give Battle Creek their fourth one-run victory against Rockford this season.
The Rivets hit the road tomorrow for a short two-game trip to Battle Creek. They will return on Thursday, June 29 for a game against the Kenosha Kingfish that starts at 6:35 p.m. It’s Thirsty Thursday! Domestic beers are just $3. 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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