LOVES PARK, IL – Rockford set another record for attendance, and the 2,500 fans that came out to the game got to see a good one.
Rockford (31-24, 14-7) topped the Lakeshore Chinooks (30-27, 12-10) by a final score of 4-2 on Friday night. Alex Bacevicius (Robert Morris) had an excellent start to lead the Rivets as they won the season series with the Chinooks, 5-3.
The Rivets wasted no time scoring runs off Chinooks starter Austin Jones (UW-Whitewater). Ryan Hutchinson (Illinois State) led off the bottom of the 1st with a double, and Bren Spillane (Illinois) drove him in with an RBI single. Spillane came home after a Neal Tyrell (Lewis) RBI double to put Rockford up 2-0 after the 1st.
Bacevicius pitched three scoreless innings to begin the game as the Rivets scored again in the 3rd. Hunter Feduccia (LSU) hit a one-out double down the right field line, and Brian Klein (Texas Tech) drove him in with an RBI single for the 3-0 Rockford lead.
The Chinooks, who lead the division in batting, finally got on the board in the 4th. Jacob Richardson (Southern Arkansas) reached on a Rockford fielding error to lead off the inning. Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State) brought Richardson home with an RBI double before scoring on a sacrifice fly, cutting Rockford’s lead to 3-2.
In the bottom half of the inning, Anthony Forte (Richmond) tripled with one out and scored off a sacrifice fly to extend Rockford’s lead once again, 4-2.
Bacevicius’s night ended after seven and two-thirds innings, and Zack Thomas (Chicago State) came in for the four-out save. Things got interesting as the Chinooks loaded the bases with two outs, but Thomas got out of the jam and closed things up in the 9th.
The season is coming to a close in the next few weeks for the Rivets. But not to worry! Rockford still has six home games remaining. The next two are a two-game series at home against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders on Thursday, August 3rd and Friday, August 4th. It’s Thirsty Thursday – that means $1 Miller Lite drafts during the game. Call 815.240.4159 to inquire about buying your tickets today.
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, 180 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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