By: Niall Rosenberg
ROCKFORD, Ill. — The story of tonight was Storey.
Jake Storey (Northern Colorado) gave the best start a Rivets (13-21) pitcher has all season long. The right-hander followed up his impressive performance last time versus the Battle Jacks (11-23) with 7.1 scoreless innings, striking out 11. The Rivets’ bats used the energy from the mound to win 7-0.
“It was just collectively one of the better games that we played in a while,” Head Coach Griffin Smith said. “The guys were just having fun, and they’re enjoying it.”
For the third time straight in this matchup, a first-inning run was scored. Rockford kicked off the scoring in the bottom half of the first. Cooper Hinson (Marshall) hit a two-out double to open the hitting. Joey Appino (Carroll) hit an infield single that ended in an error, resulting in Hinson taking home.
Storey came out hot on the mound in his second straight start against the Battle Jacks. After getting through the first inning in four batters, he struck out the side in the second in just 11 pitches.
Storey was not done there; in the third inning, he managed to grab four strikeouts. One of them was a dropped third strike with the runner reaching first base. The right-hander passed his season high of seven strikeouts with eight in three innings.
“It’s the first time that it’s happened to me,” Storey said. “It felt amazing, but there’s a great catcher behind the plate on those pitches and you just have to have trust in him.”
The bats felt the dominance on the mound. The Rivets came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Hinson doubled again to lead off the inning and was moved to third with a sacrifice bunt. A huge triple from Gavin Taylor (Nevada Las Vegas) scored Hinson, and he scored off a Sean Sweeney (Binghampton) RBI single.
Rockford added another run in the fourth. An RBI double from Collin Taylor (Los Angeles Valley) added the third run of the inning and made it 4-0.
As Storey picked up his tenth and eleventh strikeouts, the Rivets blasted themselves to a seven-run lead. After a hit by pitch and a single from Drew Girtz (Bethel) and Tate Shimao (Hawaii), Appino came up to the plate. On a one-strike pitch, the right-handed hitter blasted a three-run home run over the left field wall.
“One of the most underrated Rivets we’ve had,” Smith said. “He just shows up, he’s a team guy. He’s been seeing the ball really well.”
Storey’s dominant start came to an end in the eighth inning. He finished with five hits given up, no walks and 11 strikeouts.
“He had eight of the ten first outs for strikeouts,” Smith said. “He had a four-strikeout inning. He saw 27 hitters and threw 22 first pitch strikes. So when you do that, there’s a lot of really good stuff that can happen.”
Gus Allred (Northern Colorado) came on in relief of Storey and closed out the eighth inning. The ninth came around, and he faced four batters to end the quickest game at Rivets Stadium this season. The game lasted two hours and 12 minutes, with Rivets’ pitching dominating. The final score was 7-0 with the Rivets winning.
“We’re ready for the next two games here at home, and then the last one at Kenosha,” Smith said. “We’re trying to win the next three.”
The Rivets will be home for another game against Battle Creek tomorrow night at 6:05 p.m., before the final home game of the season versus Kenosha. The final game of the season will be August 9 in Kenosha.
Fans can purchase tickets to Rivets games all season long at www.rockfordrivets.com.
###
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.