KENOSHA, Wis. — The page has officially been turned for the Rivets.

Tuesday marked the beginning of the Northwoods League’s second half and also the beginning of a new-look Rivets squad who put their first half struggles behind them and held on for a 6-4 victory over the Kenosha Kingfish (0-1). The Rivets (1-0), led by a handful of new faces, took a big early lead and despite watching it slowly narrow late, staved off a ninth inning Kingfish rally to snap their six-game losing streak and put the first tally on their fresh second half record in the win column.

“The last ten plus days have been a grind,” head coach Chase Brewster said. “For them to come back out and win on Opening Day of the second half is a testament to them for being mentally tough.”

The Rivets jumped in front in the first inning thanks to a pair of newcomers. Cooper Hinson (Marshall) began the game with a leadoff single — one of three hits on the night in his debut — before Gavin Taylor (UNLV) blasted a two-run home run to left on the first swing he took as a Rivet this summer. Taylor — who played 35 games for the Kingfish in 2024 — greeted his former team rudely in his first game as a Rivet to get his new squad off to a fast start.

“Having Cooper Hinson in the leadoff spot to start the second half was awesome,” Brewster said. “Getting three hits out of the gate was huge for us, as was Gavin Taylor’s home run.”

The Rivets tacked on another in the second on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jack Scheri (Wabash Valley), although missed an opportunity to break things open early by leaving the bases loaded. They didn’t miss their chance in the fourth, however, when Conner Cunningham (Murray State) drove in two on a double to extend the Rivets’ lead to five.

The Kingfish got on the board in the fifth with some help from a defensive miscue by the Rivets at third that allowed the inning to continue. A two-out RBI single ended up scoring Kenosha’s first run, continuing a rough patch defensively for Rockford during which they’ve now committed an error in 13 consecutive games.

The Rivets got the run back in the sixth on a passed ball that scored Ty Waid (McLennan), who was hit by a pitch, and was inches away from scoring Cunningham, who ripped his second double of the game. Cunningham recorded his first multi-hit game of the summer, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.

On the mound for the Rivets, Hawk Bowers (McLennan) made his first start of the season after being previously used exclusively out of the bullpen and was excellent through his first five innings, allowing five hits and just the one unearned run before losing control to begin the sixth. Bowers walked three consecutive Kingfish hitters to begin the frame, forcing head coach Chase Brewster to finally turn things over to the pen and Kelvin Battles (Southeast Arkansas CC), who made his first appearance as a Rivet.

“We all know it starts on the mound,” Brewster said. “Hawk couldn’t have done a better job for us of setting the tone today. He was at 57 pitches through five and we probably got greedy sending him back in the sixth.”

The Kingfish greeted Battles with an RBI single to cut into the deficit, but Battles otherwise did a remarkable job limiting damage to escape the inning with the Rivets still comfortably in front. A double play plated another Kingfish run, but after a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases again, Battles got a huge strikeout to strand all three runners.

“We put him in a little bit of a bad situation for his first outing, but that’s what good players do,” Brewster said. “They find ways to get out of it.”

Kenosha continued ramping up the pressure in the seventh, cutting the deficit to just two on a solo home run by first baseman James McCoy. The Rivets had a chance to answer it after Tommy Townsend (Butler) led off the eighth with a double but went down in order shortly after.

Lance Mittelman (St. Peter’s) — another new arrival to the Rivets roster — got the call to close the game for the final two innings and delivered a clutch performance to secure the save in his Rivets debut. Mittelman retired the side in order in the eighth and was an out away from a perfect outing before surrendering back-to-back two-out hits and a walk in the ninth to put the winning run on base. Mittelman wasn’t fazed, though, as he got Kingfish designated hitter Jacob Vokal to ground out, securing the much-needed Rivets victory.

“KJ Battles and Lance Mittelman were both phenomenal out of the pen,” Brewster said.

With the Northwoods League’s schedule broken into halves, this game provided the Rivets a complete reset after struggling mightily to end the first half, losing 11 of their final 12 games. While overall records will still be kept and could come into play should the First Half Champion Pit Spitters win the Great Lakes East division in both halves, a brand-new playoff race will also begin with the records wiped clean.

The Rivets will certainly be thrilled to see a 1-0 record next to their name following the road win over the Kingfish.

“It feels good to be back in first place,” Brewster said.

The Rivets and Kingfish will see each other again on Wednesday at Rivets Stadium, beginning with the resumption of a suspended game from June 26 at 4:35 p.m. The regularly scheduled game will begin either at 6:05 p.m. or 30 minutes following the resumed game’s conclusion — whichever comes second. Fans can purchase tickets for Rivets games all season long at www.rockfordrivets.com.

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The Rockford Rivets are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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, 360 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network.  Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. 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.