By: Emily Tuttle

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Finishing out a four-game home set against the Kalamazoo Growlers (16-10), the Rockford Rivets (9-17) put up only one run on a homer. They continued their offensive drought; though they had more hits than the Growlers, they stranded runners all evening and fell 9-1, losing the series. This was the Rivets’ ninth loss out of their last 10 games. 

It was Star Wars Night at Rivets Stadium, the fans cheering with lightsabers lifted toward the skies and Jedi mascots proudly guarding the front gates. 

The game looked like it could be a rubber match for the first few innings—the Growlers up 1-0 through four. But Kalamazoo added two in the fifth and three in the sixth to solidify their lead and take some distance from their opponent. 

Right-hander Jeremy Allen (University of Kansas) made his Rivets debut on the bump tonight. He went through two innings with 38 pitches, as he is on a pitch restriction. He started the content emphatically with a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. He added another K in the second inning to finish with three punch outs and one walk. 

His outing was encouraging to the Rivets coaching staff, who went through 11 arms in the first three games against the Grolwers. The bullpen was a bit slim, but Allen’s innings, though short, put the Rivets in an advantageous spot. 

Zan Von Schlegell (University of St. Thomas), who leads the Rivets with 20 walks this season, stepped up to the plate against Growlers’ starter RJ Anglin, who had yet to walk any batter this season. But Von Schlegell continued with his patience and careful eye, giving Anglin his first free pass. 

In the fourth, it looked like the Rivets may have had a chance to answer Kalamazoo’s one run, with two men on, but they were stranded on a groundout. 

Bryce Nevils (John A. Logan CC) continued his speed this evening, stealing both second and third after reaching on a single. Those were his 19th and 20th bags snagged this summer, leading his team by eight. 

Though the Rivets had five hits to the Growlers’ three, the Growlers took advantage of walks and errors to bring in their nine runs. 

The Rivets’ defense struggled with four errors. Two of them, though, were costly. Left-handed reliever Rowan Smyth (Lewis University), who threw six strikeouts in his outing, was forced to stay on the mound a little longer in the ninth. 

“I was really impressed with where our lefties threw the ball again today,” Rivets manager Bob Koopmann said. 

Smyth’s pitch count skyrocketed due to the defense’s inability to get out of the inning.

With one out, Keith Eusebio (Paradise Valley CC) dropped a fly ball in left field, allowing runners to advance to the corners. A couple of wild pitches added more runs before Tommy Townsend (Xavier University) seemed to glove a ball, then dropped it with two outs on the board. The throw from Von Schlegell at short was on line, and it looked like the inning would have been over. 

And the bases were loaded for the Rivs in the bottom of the ninth, but all were stranded to end the night. The bottom four in the lineup went 0-14 tonight. 

In the sixth, it was just a solo shot by Von Schlegell sent over the left field wall that put the Rivets on the board. The Force must have been with him. 

Still, it was another disheartening outing for the home team, but they will look to quickly bounce back, hosting the Rochester Honkers Saturday at 6:35 pm. 

“Trying to build a little bit of momentum before we get to the second half,” Koopmann said.