Hunter Feduccia rounds third base after hitting a home run Monday night. Feduccia's walk off home run in the 10th inning ended Kalamazoo's undefeated start to the second half of the season. Photo courtesy of Doug Timmermann of JK Richards Photography.
LOVES PARK, Ill. – Hunter Feduccia (LSU) already had a walk off hit for the Rivets this season when he came up to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning of Monday night’s game.
Feduccia sent a solo shot deep to right field in extra innings to end Kalamazoo’s (14-26) six-game winning streak. Lukas Veinbergs (San Jacinto) pitched five innings for the Rivets, giving up just one run, and Feduccia ended the night with two home runs and three RBI to lead Rockford (21-19).
Things did not get off to a good start for Veinbergs. Three straight Kalmazoo two-out singles allowed Connor Hollis (Houston) to score the first run of the ballgame, giving the Growlers a 1-0 lead after the first half inning.
After that, Veinbergs settled down for the Rivets, scattering four more hits over the next four innings. Rockford did give him run support in the 3rd inning, when Zach Rheams (Texas Tech) was hit by a pitch and eventually came home on an RBI single by Feduccia to tie the game 1-1.
Rockford was finally able to do more damage with two outs in the 7th, when Trevor Paradoski (Texas Tech) scored on a wild pitch and Rheams drove in Kian O’Brien (Madison College) with an RBI double, giving Rockford a 3-1 lead.
Kalamazoo came roaring back in the bottom of the 7th. Hollis scored off a Matt Koehler (Western Carolina) RBI single and Koehler later came home off a wild pitch. Ivan Estrella (Texas-Rio Grande) also scored in the inning to put Kalamazoo up 4-3.
Rockford came back with one swing of the bat in the 8th as Feduccia went deep to the right field porch to tie the game 4-4.
As the game headed to extras, Feduccia came up to bat once again in the bottom of the 10th. His second home run of the night was a no-doubter to right field, which ended Kalamzoo’s winning streak and their undefeated second half start. Dylan Stutsman (Indianapolis, 2-0) picked up the win for Rockford in relief.
The Rivets leave town for two games in Fond du Lac on Tuesday and Wednesday. They will return on Thursday, July 13th, for a game against the Wisconsin Woodchucks at 6:35 p.m. It’s Thirsty Thursday – that means $1 Miller Lite drafts! You can 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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