{"id":17741,"date":"2025-08-03T16:03:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T21:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/?p=17741"},"modified":"2025-08-03T16:03:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T21:03:06","slug":"bats-struggle-as-rivets-are-swept-by-growlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/2025\/08\/03\/bats-struggle-as-rivets-are-swept-by-growlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Bats Struggle as Rivets are Swept by Growlers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Niall Rosenberg<\/span><\/p>\n

ROCKFORD, Ill. \u2014 The Rivets\u2019 defense couldn\u2019t turn into offense<\/span><\/p>\n

Game two of the series between the Kalamazoo Growlers (18-13) and the Rockford Rivets (12-19) was a quick one. After 18 runs scored in last night\u2019s affair, only five were scored today. The Rivets were the first to score today, but the Growlers came in clutch in the end, defeating the Rivets 3-2.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a team that\u2019s going to make the playoffs,\u201d Head Coach Griffin Smith said. \u201cWe were right there with them, had a chance to beat them, and had the lead there for a while. I think that all we can do is go out there and compete.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After Kalamazoo came out hot last night, scoring five runs in the first three innings, it was Danny Cercello (Houston) who held them scoreless through the first four today.<\/span><\/p>\n

As much as Cercello held Kalamazoo scoreless, it was the Growlers\u2019 starter Brody Krzysiak who returned the favor to Rockford. The run column remained empty through the first third of the ballgame.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rivets were the ones to break the scoreless stalemate in the bottom of the fourth. After a leadoff single from Cooper Hinson (Marshall) and a double from Joey Appino (Carroll), Julian Aguilera (Ecclesia) came up with runners in scoring position and no outs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aguilera hit a sacrifice groundout to score Hinson, giving the Rivets their first lead of the series. Gavin Taylor (Nevada Las Vegas) followed that up with an RBI single to score Appino. The Rivets led 2-0 at the end of the inning.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fifth inning was where Cercello saw his first trouble of the ballgame. Kalamazoo led off the inning with a double and proceeded to load the bases with one out. A hit by pitch scored Kalamazoo\u2019s first run of the game. Cercello came back strong, limiting the damage to the sole run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cercello\u2019s final inning was the sixth, and the Growlers took advantage. A leadoff walk ended up coming across from an RBI single. Kalamazoo added another run after an infield single led to an error, allowing the runner on second to take home. The Rivets trailed for the first time today.<\/span><\/p>\n

An overall great start from Cercello. The right-hander\u2019s best start of the season comes after a poor start his last time against the Battle Creek Battle Jacks. The Naperville, Illinois native went 5.2 IP, with two earned runs on five hits and three walks. He held the Growlers\u2019 offense at bay after their great offensive performance yesterday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDan came out and set the tone,\u201d Smith said. \u201cGets a first inning zero, second inning zero, third inning zero, and didn\u2019t give up a run until the fifth there. Got a little sporadic late, but outside of that, he was great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the bats struggled, the pitching for the Rivets was stellar. Will Paxton (St. Peter\u2019s) came in relief of Cercello and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings. He struck out one, giving up just two hits and a single walk. A great appearance for the right-hander.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rockford\u2019s bats couldn\u2019t get anything going against the Growlers\u2019 pitching, as the fourth inning was the only one where runs crossed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we took too many fastballs early in counts,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt forced him to go with some sliders and go some stuff in with some sinkers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The final inning of the ballgame saw the Rivets only plate one runner. Ny\u2019zaiah Thompson (Modesto)\u00a0 was caught stealing for the first time this season to end the game. The Rivets fall to the Growlers and get swept in the two-game series between the teams.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single day I\u2019m going to try my best to get them to play like it\u2019s game seven of the World Series,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou still have to go out, you got to play every day, and you got to play with the same aggression, same passion, same everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rivets head on the road to begin the final week of the Northwoods League season with two games versus the Traverse City Pit Spitters.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fans can purchase tickets to Rivets games all season long at <\/span>www.rockfordrivets.com.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

###<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019 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.\u00a0 Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit <\/span><\/i>www.rockfordrivets.com<\/span><\/i><\/a> 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.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Niall Rosenberg ROCKFORD, Ill. \u2014 The Rivets\u2019 defense couldn\u2019t turn into offense Game two of the series between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":17742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBats Struggle as Rivets are Swept by Growlers - Rockford Rivets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/2025\/08\/03\/bats-struggle-as-rivets-are-swept-by-growlers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bats Struggle as Rivets are Swept by Growlers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Niall Rosenberg ROCKFORD, Ill. \u2014 The Rivets\u2019 defense couldn\u2019t turn into offense Game two of the series between the [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/2025\/08\/03\/bats-struggle-as-rivets-are-swept-by-growlers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rockford Rivets\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-03T21:03:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/08\/Aug3storyrivets-1024x812.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"812\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kylemckenna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kylemckenna\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/2025\/08\/03\/bats-struggle-as-rivets-are-swept-by-growlers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/2025\/08\/03\/bats-struggle-as-rivets-are-swept-by-growlers\/\",\"name\":\"Bats Struggle as Rivets are Swept by Growlers - 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