Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – A gritty comeback fell just short, as the Rockford Rivets (24-33) got walked off in the bottom of the tenth in a 6-5 loss to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
Ryan Cole kicked the scoring off with a solo shot over the left field wall in the top of the second, but after a five-run rally by the Rafters in the bottom half of that inning the Rivets had an uphill battle ahead of them.
The call was answered by a myriad of Rivets as they chipped away at the Rafters’ lead for the rest of the game. The Rivets scored on a groundout by Parker Bates in the fourth, a double by Cade Bunnell in the fifth, a single by Parker Kelly in the fifth, and a single by Zach Sehgal in the sixth. That single by Sehgal knotted the game up at five, where it stayed until the bottom of the tenth.
“We got hits with runners in scoring position today,” Rivets’ Manager Brian Smith said, “The four games after the [All-Star] break, I got really no complaints offensively.”
Brad Littleton started on the mound for the Rivets and with the exception of the bottom of the second, Littleton did not allow any other runs. Dane Havemen threw three innings, only allowing two hits and striking out four, while Tanner Propst also did well throwing 1.2 innings but was saddled with the loss after allowing the walk-off base hit. That run will go as unearned.
The series between the Rafters and the Rivets now shifts to Rockford for two straight in front of the Rivets’ faithful. Fans can get tickets to tomorrow’s game for $1 by buying tickets at rockfordrivets.com and using the promo code: 1BUCK. First pitch tomorrow is slated for 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.
