It was a complete offensive showing for the Rivets on Monday night as they defeated the visiting Green Bay Booyah by a score of 10-3. Cory Wright got the win for Rockford on the night, as Victor Santana was on the losing end for Green Bay.
The offense was hot in this one, scoring a total of ten runs. Many players excelled for Rockford in the contest, including Jake Vander Wal and Caleb Durbin. Caleb Durbin, of Washington College in St. Louis was absolutely outstanding on the night. During his first at bat, he crushed a liner to the left fielder that was fielded for an out, but it was perhaps a sign of things to come as he finished 3-5 with one home run, one double, and four runs batted in. “I think my approach has been pretty consistent the last couple nights. The ball started to fall for me today, and I’m just trying to hit it hard where I can” Durbin said when asked about his big night at the plate. Manager Josh Keim was also impressed with the 5’8” sophomore, saying, “He’s been here for just a few days, but he has made a huge impact for us on both sides of the ball. He plays hard every single day. The addition of him on this club has really been a huge spark to everything.” Durbin now owns a .250 batting average with one home run and six RBI over 13 games.
Jake Vander Wal was also a big presence in the middle of the Rivets order, going 2-4 with one home run, one double, one walk, and a stolen base on the evening. This was a typical day in the life of Rockford’s right left fielder, as his season slash line now sits at .280/.379/.461 with seven long balls and 38 RBI.
The offense was great on the night, which left much worry for starter Cory Wright. He tossed seven innings of three-run ball while striking out eight batters. It was just what was needed for Rockford, because they are right in the middle of the playoff hunt. His ERA now sits at 3.90 on the season down from 4.36 going into the contest. He has also struck out 30 batters across 27.2 innings pitched.
With the Kalamazoo Growlers winning on the night, Rockford was unable to pick up any ground in the standings. With the off day tomorrow with the MLB Dream Showcase happening in Madison, the Rivets are back in action against the same Green Bay club at 6:35 on Wednesday night.
The Rockford Rivets are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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 (MIA). 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.