Kalamazoo, Mi – The Rockford Rivets (20-27) could never get the offense going in a 6-1 loss to the Kalamazoo Growlers on Sunday evening at Homer Stryker Field.
The lone run for the Rivets didn’t come across until the eighth inning when Jacob Vander Wal grounded out to second base and scored Kian O’Brien from third. O’Brien, Cade Bunnell, and Brennan Reback all accumulated one hit on the day, while Parker Bates was the only Rivet with multiple hits.
On the mound, Jimmy Burnette picked up the loss for Rivets after allowing four earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched. Dane Haveman was the first pitcher on in relief and struck out five of the nine batters he saw while allowing no earned runs. Finally, Anthony Dahl finished the game off in the bottom of the eighth throwing one inning and allowing no runs.
“We just need to keep pushing,” Rivets’ Manager Brian Smith said, “Everybody is working really hard, we’re getting guys on base now with the opportunity to score, and we just need guys to step up and get them home.”
Tomorrow, a rare Northwoods League off-day, gives the Rivets a critical rest day before traveling to Fond du Lac for a two-game set against the Dock Spiders. Both games on Tuesday and Wednesday will be at 6:35 PM.
The Rockford Rivets are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, 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, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.rockfordrivets.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rivets as your favorite team.