By: Kyle Tausk
ROCKFORD, Ill. — The win of the year for the Rivets.
After entering the eighth inning trailing 7-0, the Rivets (3-1) completely erased the deficit with an enormous eighth-inning rally and capped it off with a walk off single in the tenth to stun the Battle Jacks (1-2), 9-8. It’s the largest Rivets comeback of 2025 and by far the most drama-filled, edge-of-your-seat game they’ve played all season.
“I’m proud of all of them,” head coach Chase Brewster said. “A lot of guys to name and just super, super appreciative of the effort we gave all the way across the roster. There were a lot more things that went into this win that’ll never get seen.”
The Battle Jacks got on the board first in the second inning off Rivets starter Andrew Alberts (Manhattan), who was making his summer debut. Alberts worked a dominant 1-2-3 first inning before Battle Creek began to do some damage, leading off their second frame at the plate with a hard hit double that was quickly driven in by an RBI single.
Alberts ran into some tough luck from there as two more came around to score in the inning — the first on a blooper that found the right field grass and the second on a soft grounder to second, both RBI singles. He was able to prevent a really crooked number with a strikeout looking to strand two Battle Jacks in scoring position.
The Battle Jacks added one more in the third on another infield single after four of the five hitters of the inning reached base. Alberts ending up lasting five, also allowing a solo home run to Battle Jacks second baseman Ryan Kroepel in his final inning of work.
Danny Cercello (Houston) took over on the mound and surrendered two more runs in the sixth, though both were unearned due to a pair of errors that extended the inning and allowed both baserunners to score. The Rivets committed three total errors in the game, continuing their recent defensive struggles during which they’ve had at least one miscue in 16 consecutive games.
Offensively, the Rivets were held quiet by Austin Wolfe, the Battle Jacks’ most reliable starter. Their best chance to break through came in the very first inning when they put runners on the corners with two outs, but struck out to end the threat. From there, Wolfe retired 13 consecutive Rivets hitters before finally surrendering a two-out hit in the sixth to Harrison Bowman (Troy), who was soon left on base.
Wolfe went seven dominant, three-hit innings with five strikeouts. But miraculously, the Battle Creek southpaw would ultimately receive a no decision.
After Wolfe departed, the Rivets finally mounted the rally of their season in the eighth. A leadoff double by Jackson Forbes (Arizona) began it, followed by a pair of walks to load the bases with one out. Brewster elected to turn to a pinch hitter, Forbes’s brother Joe Forbes (Arizona), to take his first at bat as a Rivet. The younger Forbes brother delivered, smashing a two-run double on the first swing he took to get Rockford on the board.
After another walk loaded the bases once again, Tommy Townsend (Butler) — who wasn’t even initially in Rockford’s lineup — stepped to the plate with a chance to turn the pressure way up in the visiting dugout. With one swing, he did that — and then some — belting a grand slam to right field to make it a brand new ballgame.
“Once I saw they were going to the pen, I knew I was going to try and hit the first pitch,” Townsend said. “He threw a little cutter and I elevated, like Brewster tells me to do.”
The Rivets didn’t stop there. Cooper Hinson (Marshall) followed Townsend’s blast with a single and after advancing to second on a wild pitch, was brought home on an RBI single by Conner Cunningham (Murray State) to tie the game. The Rivets’ seven-run deficit was completely erased in the matter of one inning.
The game entered extra innings after both teams failed to score in the ninth. In the top of the tenth, the Battle Jacks retook the lead on a two-out RBI double by third baseman Caleb Estrada, narrowly missing a knockout three-run home run by a matter of feet.
Needing one run to tie and two to win, the Rivets loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the tenth, but were dangerously close to falling in heartbreaking fashion after back-to-back strikeouts. But Cunningham took the hero title with two outs, ripping a walk off two-run single into the hole between second and first to put Rivets Stadium into a frenzy.
“I told Cooper [Hinson] when he struck out, ‘I’m picking you up right here,’“ Cunningham said. Just rounding the bases, seeing them safe at the plate, it’s a really cool feeling.”
It’s the Rivets’ third win in their first four games to begin the second half and by far the most memorable of the entire season to date. They now sit back atop the Great Lakes East division with a newfound confidence as the second half gets underway.
“It feels good to be in first place. It always feels good to beat Battle Creek,” Brewster said. “The biggest thing is that we’re winners. Until tomorrow, we get to say we’re winners and it’s a feeling that a lot of teams in the league don’t get tonight.”
The Rivets and Battle Jacks will meet again at Rivets Stadium on Friday at 6:35 p.m. The Rivets, in partnership with Collins Aerospace, will be hosting a Fourth of July celebration that includes a postgame fireworks show.
Fans can purchase tickets for Friday’s special Fourth of July game and 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.