Anthony Forte hits a bases-clearing 3-RBI double in the 4th inning for Rockford on Friday night. Photo courtesy of Doug Timmermann of JK Richards Photography.
LOVES PARK, IL – After losing by 15 runs the night previous, the Rockford Rivets did not want to let another one slip away with the playoffs quickly approaching.
Alex Bacevicius (Robert Morris) notched seven and a third innings, Rockford (36-26, 19-9) managed 13 runs and 14 hits, and the Rivets defeated the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (31-32, 15-12) 13-5 on Friday night to remain in 1st place in the South Divisional standings in the second half.
From the beginning, it looked like a pitchers’ duel. Bacevicius and Jacob Barton (Mississippi State) began the game with three scoreless innings each. However, Rockford used a two-out rally in the 4th to open things up.
With two outs, Zach Rheams (Texas Tech) doubled to left center field before Brian Klein (Texas Tech) was hit by a pitch. After a Neal Tyrell (Lewis) single to load the bases, Anthony Forte (Richmond) swung away at the first pitch, a ground ball down the 1st base line to clear the bases. Kian O’Brien (Madison College) brought Forte home with an RBI single to put Rockford up 4-0.
The run support continued for Bacevicius in the 5th. Brynn Martinez (Quincy) walked and Klein smashed a ball that made it over the right field fence to put Rockford up 6-0.
Bacevicius’s scoreless bout ended in the 6th, as KV Edwards (Missouri) led off the inning with a single and Chris Cornelius (Notre Dame) drove him in with a double to cut Rockford’s lead by one.
Rockford came back in the home half of the inning, scoring another two runs. Forte led off with a single and O’Brien and Logan Michaels (Madison College) each walked to load the bases with no outs. Trevor Paradoski (Texas Tech) scored Forte with a sacrifice fly and Martinez got in on the action again with an RBI single to put the Rivets up 8-1.
Fond du Lac struck again in the 7th inning, when Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) led off with a double and Edwards drove him in with a single. At that point, the Rockford lead remained 8-2.
The Rivets continued to pour it on the Dock Spiders, as Klein, Tyrell, and Forte all scored in the bottom of the 7th and Rockford extended its lead once again, 11-2.
Bacevicius continued to pitch into the 8th, and Fond du Lac finally got to him. Before he could record an out, Thomas Luevano (Creighton) hit a deep solo shot over the left field wall. Cornelius singled and Brandon Wulff (Stanford) doubled before Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina) doubled both of them home.
Rockford added two insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th inning as Matt Vanek (UW-Milwaukee) finished Bacevicius’s night with the final inning and two-thirds. With the win, Rockford remained in first place in the second half standings as the regular season is coming to a close.
The season is coming to a close in the next few weeks for the Rivets. But not to worry! Rockford still has four home games remaining. Tomorrow, the Green Bay Bullfrogs come to town for two games. It’s Super Hero Night! Come dressed as your favorite super hero to the stadium; gates open at 5:35 p.m. 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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