By: Emily Tuttle

WATERLOO, IA — After an hour and 21-minute rain delay, the Rockford Rivets (7-7) completed a two-game sweep against the Waterloo Bucks (6-8) with a 9-2 win, backed by pitcher Keith Eusebio (Paradise Valley CC).

After losing both to the Bucks in their first series of the season, the Rivets gave Waterloo a taste of their own medicine on the Bucks’ home field. 

Entering the game with a 2.70 ERA, Eusebio dominated all night, making quick work of the Waterloo batters. He finished eight full innings on 100 pitches, the longest any Rivets pitcher has gone this season, and his ERA dropped to 2.00.

Productive hitting assisted Eusebio’s lights-out pitching, starting in the first frame. 

On the first pitch of the game, leadoff hitter Jack Scheri (Stony Brook University) was hit, taking the free pass to first after little work, and maybe a lot of pain. 

2-hole Tate Schmidt (UW-Milwaukee) also took a walk, the traditional way. Caleb Rhodes (Olive-Harvey CC) stepped up to the plate, belting an RBI single up the middle to score Scheri and let the Rivets strike first.

Rhodes continued to leave his imprint on the game in the second, coming to bat with two men on and smashing an RBI double off the back wall. Tommy Townsend (Xavier University) drove in another run to score Rhodes, putting Rhodes’ fingerprints on four of the Rivets’ nine runs on the night.

But the one who had his way the entire game was Eusebio. 

He started the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the first and never allowed the Bucks to gain any momentum. His only three strikeouts on the night all came against Tayvon Homolar. Eusebio allowed two runs, one of them earned, and only two walks. 

The Bucks added their first run in the home half of the third on a single and an error by Scheri in center. 

But the Rivets continued their efficiency in the top of the fourth. Scheri led off with a double into the right-center gap, and Schmidt walked to put two men on early. Waterloo pulled its pitcher in the middle of Rhodes’ at-bat, and as Rhodes looked to add more to his resume, he barrelled a line drive that caught the glove of 6-foot-8 MJ Sweeney. 

But this time, it was Joe Forbes who drove in two runs with an RBI single to clean up the bases. 

Eusebio continued to put on a show in the fifth, with a shifty behind-the-back line-out grab, adding a little bit of swag to his command. He cruised through the inning, with another 1-3 putout to end it, strolling off the mound with a smile on his face. 

Entering the bottom of the sixth, Eusebio had given up only four hits through five innings. The Rivets’ defense helped him get out of the inning, turning a double play after a couple of singles. Though the Bucks brought one home, another groundout to Eusebio finished the inning quickly. 

Scheri continued a productive evening with an RBI single in the seventh to respond to Waterloo’s added run. His base hit brought home Nevils, who walked, stole second and then advanced to third on an error. 

Forbes continued the fun in the eighth, hitting his first homer of the season, evading the left field foul pole for a high-flying two-run shot. 

Eusebio snagged another line out in the eighth for the cherry on top—it seemed to come all too easily for the two-way player tonight. 

George Gouriotis took over on the mound in the ninth after Eusebio reached 100 pitches and earned his first win of the season. Gouriotis polished off the Bucks, as the outfielders assisted in routine flyouts to pull out the brooms and complete the sweep.

The Screws got hot in this away series, hoping to bring the momentum back home with them as they take on the Richmond Flying Mummies at 6:35 pm on Monday.