By: Emily Tuttle

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — After dropping their previous five games during a nine-game road trip, the Rockford Rivets traveled farther north to face the Traverse City Pit Spitters in the teams’ fifth meeting of the season. The game stayed close through eight innings before Traverse City walked off the Rivets, 6-5, extending Rockford’s losing streak to six.

To start the game with a bang, leadoff hitter Jackson Forbes (University of San Diego) belted a no-doubt home run on the third pitch. This homer was Forbes’ fourth of the season, tying him with Davis Collie (John A. Logan CC) and Tommy Townsend (Xavier University) for the team lead.

Traverse City added one of their own in the first, off an RBI groundout. The Rivets and Pit Spitters have become familiar with close games this season. In each of their previous four meetings, the score had been within two runs after seven innings—tonight being no different.

Zan von Schlegell (University of St. Thomas), who has hit over .400 against Traverse City this season, continued in his cherry-picking rhythm. He led off the second with a double, and would go 2-for-4 on the night. 

With one on, Joey Appino (Carroll University) singled to put runners on the corners. Following him up, 7-hole Alex Tabbert (University of Illinois Chicago) hit an RBI double that brought Von Schlegell across the dish, then a Pit Spitters error allowed Appino to score as well. 

But then in the home half of the inning, the Pit Spitters crawled one closer with another RBI groundout. 

It was left-hander Keith Eusebio (Paradise Valley CC) who got the start on the mound tonight. Eusebio has consistently worked deep into games this season, entering the night with two complete games. Tonight’s six-inning outing tied him for the Northwoods League lead for innings pitched with 61.2 on the season.

He finished with four earned runs, three walks and three strikeouts. For the first three innings, Eusebio dealt with base traffic, but then was able to retire the side in the fourth. 

Miguel Cantu (Missouri Western State University) has been quite productive for the Rivets since he joined the team six games ago, and continued that momentum tonight. He hit a leadoff deep shot to left field to put the Rivets up 4-2. 

But the Rivets were effectively shut down by the Pit Spitters pitching staff, going scoreless for the next four innings. In the eighth, Appino singled with two outs to snap a streak of six consecutive batters retired. Tabbert followed with his second RBI of the night to tie the game, 5-5, before he was caught stealing to end the inning. 

The Rivs went to the top of the ninth, but the Pit Spitters retired the side with a pair of fly outs and a strikeout. 

Traverse City, on the other hand, capitalized on their opportunity, loading the bases before bringing home the winning run to send the Rivets home.

The Rivs’ six-game losing streak has knocked them down the Great Lakes East standings, as they fight to remain in the playoff race. Before the trip, the Rivets were 9-5, but the nine-game road stint with two doubleheaders has proven to be a challenge. 

They will look to gain a win tomorrow versus the Pit Spitters at 6:05 pm CT, before finally heading home on Tuesday.