LOVES PARK, Ill. – The Rockford Rivets beat Kalamazoo on Monday night at Rivets stadium 7-2 to complete the sweep of the Growlers. Rockford was led by yet another great pitching performance, which appears to be the trend lately.
Pitcher Chase Kueter went eight innings with five strikeouts and no earned runs. The Growlers put up two runs in the game but neither were earned due to three Rivet errors throughout the game. Kueter now improves to 1-1 on the season in three starts.
Rivet’s manager Brain Smith said that he enjoys watching Kueter when he takes the mound.
“Chase did everything we talked about at the beginning of the season with what we expected of him,” Smith said. “He threw a ton of strikes and challenges guys, he’s fun to watch.”
Rockford’s pitching has been rolling as of late, as Kueter’s quality start was followed by Cole Bellair’s shutout on Sunday.
Smith said that pitching for contact has been a big reason for the recent success.
“It’s nice that Cole and Chase have gone in there and attacked these guys and made them but the ball in play.”
On the offensive side of the ball, two Indiana Hoosiers led the Rivets. Second baseman Justin Walker and third baseman Cade Bunnell both had three hits and a run. Bunnell finished with two RBIs while Walker pushed across one. Shortstop Tim Lilly additionally added two hits and one run.
The Rivets were tied for second in the South Division of the Northwoods League with the Growlers and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters going into Monday’s game. With this win, the Rivets are now currently tied for second with only the Rafters, with Wisconsin Rapids wining their game against the Wisconsin Woodchucks on Monday. The Madison Mallards currently sit at the top of the division in first place.
Rockford will hit the road after their long home stretch and take on the Green Bay Bullfrogs in Green Bay tomorrow at 6:35.
The Rockford Rivets are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. 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.
