{"id":18289,"date":"2026-07-29T21:59:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T02:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/?p=18289"},"modified":"2026-07-29T22:01:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T03:01:42","slug":"rivets-sweep-kingfish-in-back-and-forth-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/rockford-rivets\/2026\/07\/29\/rivets-sweep-kingfish-in-back-and-forth-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Rivets Sweep Kingfish, in Back-And-Forth Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><strong>By: Christopher Rodriguez<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>ROCKFORD, IL \u2013 The Rockford Rivets (13-11) faced the Kenosha Kingfish (13-11) on Wednesday night for the finale of a three-game series. Rockford took the first two matchups in a doubleheader on Tuesday night, holding Kenosha to just three total runs in both games.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>The momentum carried over into the showdown, as the Rivets defeated the Kingfish 8-7 in a close battle. The Screws offense totaled nine hits, with seven walks to help earn them the victory.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>On the mound for Rockford was right-handed pitcher Logan Koeller (Florida A&amp;M University), making his first start of the summer. Through two innings, he allowed three runs on two hits, with five walks and a strikeout.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>Koeller found himself in trouble early, as the Kingfish loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first. The righty was able to limit the damage, allowing just one run to score after a double play, putting Kenosha up early with a 1-0 lead.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>The Kingfish juiced the bases again in the top of the second inning, with no outs. They were able to tack on two runs this time around, from a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to make it a 3-0 game.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>Right-handed pitcher Sam Hays (Elgin CC) entered the game for Rockford in the top of the third, making his fourth appearance of the season. Kenosha kicked off the frame with a leadoff double, later scoring the runner with another RBI single to make it four straight unanswered runs.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>In the bottom of the third, the Rivets offense found life. Beau Bloxdorf (Madison CC) sent a one-out single into left field to earn the Screws&#8217; first hit of the night. Connor Kave (Iona University) and Miguel Cantu (Missouri Western State University) both reached base the next two at-bats to load the bases, with a walk and a hit by pitch.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>Joey Appino (Carroll University) stepped up to the plate and delivered a two-run single into left field, making it 20 RBIs on the year. The Screws were unable to add more runs, but made it a 4-2 game off Appino\u2019s big play.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Rivets offense kept their foot on the gas. Jackson Forbes (University of Arizona) and Alex Tabbert (Harper College) both reached base to start the frame, putting Keith Eusebio (Paradise Valley CC) to the plate. Eusebio smashed his third home run of the season into left field, putting the Rivets up 5-4.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>The Screws stayed hot in the bottom of the fifth, with a solo shot from Cantu to make it six unanswered runs. The home run was the power hitter&#8217;s fourth of the season, through just 11 games.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>\u201cHe\u2019s been fantastic,\u201d manager Bob Koopmann said. \u201cHe\u2019s a professional player in everything he does. The way he carries himself, it\u2019s been great to watch.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>Cantu\u2019s night didn\u2019t end there, earning an RBI single to score Bloxdorf from second base in the bottom of the seventh. The Rivets took a 7-4 lead, continuing to overwhelm the Kingfish\u2019s pitching staff.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>\u201cI\u2019ve been doing my best,\u201d Cantu said. \u201cI\u2019ve prepared my whole life for this. We are playing good baseball right now, and we have to stack some wins.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>Kenosha rallied in the top of the eighth, loading the bases with two outs on left-handed pitcher Ammon Shaul (GateWay CC). The Kingfish delivered a bases-clearing double to tie the game back up 7-7.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>In the bottom of the eighth, Tabbert reached base with a one-out walk, stealing second to put himself into scoring position. Eusebio sent a fly ball into the outfield, advancing the runner to third with two outs. A wild pitch from the Kingfish pitcher scored Tabbert from third, giving the Screws the lead back with one inning to go.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>The Kingfish were unable to respond, with right-handed pitcher Derek Huber (Illinois-Springfield) closing out the game with a three-up, three-down ninth inning and completing the three-game sweep.<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe guys have been playing well,\u201d Koopmann said. \u201cWe look forward to playing even better against Madison, and continuing to get better.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>Rockford will begin a two-game series against the Madison Mallards tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. in Wisconsin. Fans can purchase tickets to Rivets games all season long at <a href=\"https:\/\/rockford-rivets.nwltickets.com\/\">https:\/\/rockford-rivets.nwltickets.com\/<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Christopher Rodriguez ROCKFORD, IL \u2013 The Rockford Rivets (13-11) faced the Kenosha Kingfish (13-11) on Wednesday night for the  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":18291,"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-18289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rivets Sweep Kingfish, in Back-And-Forth Battle - 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