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The Growlers carried the same success they had from the morning into the night, defeating the Rivets 6-2. Rockford managed just four hits in the matchup, unable to match their offensive performance in game one, where they totaled 10.

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Left-handed pitcher Brady Louck (Arizona State University) made his first appearance as a Rivet this summer, starting on the mound, looking to bring his success playing for the Sun Devils. Louck threw through four innings, allowing just one hit in 45 pitches, with five strikeouts and no walks in an impressive season debut.

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“We had him for just the 45-50 pitch limit today, which is exactly what we thought, and he was fun to watch,” manager Bob Koopmann said. “No walks and the five strikeouts, great stuff.”

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After three scoreless innings with just one total hit coming from the Growlers, the Screws relied on their newer additions to the team in the bottom of the fourth.

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Dasaan Lee (Morton College) earned his first walk as Rivet with two outs in his season debut for Rockford. Coby Neville (Paradise Valley CC) followed with drawing a walk of his own, putting Lee into scoring position. Beau Bloxdorf (Madison College), entering his first game of the summer for the Rivets as well, delivered his first hit in impressive fashion, with an RBI single into right field to give his team the lead 1-0.

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Louck, despite an impressive performance that only allowed one total base runner for Kalamazoo, made his exit in the top of the fifth due to a pitch-count limit. Left-hander Ryan Sigale made his fifth appearance this season, taking the spot on the mound.

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The Growlers were able to find better success at the top of the inning, with a leadoff double and a single to begin the frame and put runners at the corners. The runner from first took off for second, as a late throw to the bag left him safe and allowed the runner from third to steal home and give them the lead 2-1.

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Right-handed pitcher Anthony Sorrentino (Roosevelt University) replaced Sigale at the top of the sixth, his sixth appearance of the summer for Rockford.

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Kalamazoo’s offense exploded at the top of the frame, scoring four runs with stolen bases and errors by the Rivets, extending the lead to 6-1 with just four total hits for their offense through six innings.

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In the bottom of the ninth, Neville sent a deep shot into right field to earn his third homer of the summer and cut the lead to just four. He leads the Rivets in home runs thus far through 25 games.

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Despite the late-inning homer, the Rivets’ offense went cold in the final four innings of the game, earning one total hit with seven total strikeouts to total 12 on the night.

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“Tomorrow’s a new day; we’ve got another new pitcher for tomorrow,” Koopmann said. “We’re going to be a little short of the pen, with the doubleheader today; I think we’ve got some guys down here, so we will figure it out.”