Self-inflicted wounds hurt Royal Oak on Saturday night, as the Leprechauns dropped their first matchup of the season against the Rockford Rivets, 12-5.
Hits were nine apiece for both sides and total bases were only plus-three in favor of Rockford, but the seven-run discrepancy on the scoreboard can be easily explained through the number of free passes. Royal Oak’s pitching staff handed out a total of nine walks, five hit by pitches and four wild pitches for a total of 18 separate instances where Rockford was able to advance on the basepaths without ever having to truly earn it. The Rivets’ free pass total was just eight — seven walks and one wild pitch — for comparison.
“If we can’t stay in the strike zone, put some competitive (at-bats) together and take care of the ball on defense, any game is going to be hard to win,” Royal Oak field manager Chris Faust said after the game. “I think (Rockford) outplayed us in all those categories tonight and you saw the results.”
In addition, 17 of those 18 free passes on the Leprechaun pitching staff came from the six innings of work the bullpen was charged with. The same goes for 11 of Rockford’s 12 runs. Starting pitcher Aidan Donovan (Michigan State) navigated the first three frames of the ballgame for Royal Oak, only allowing one run (who reached on his lone walk) and one hit.
The high-octane Leprechaun offense tried to keep up with the Rivets but also relinquished some good chances to add runs. There were four innings in the game where Royal Oak left multiple runners on base, and the team’s final total for LOB was 10.
Of the team’s nine hits on the night, seven of them came from three players. Aidan Schuck (Oakland) led the way with a three-hit performance. Jack Dauer (Yale) and Dylan Larkins (Georgetown) had two hits apiece. Larkins was also a third-inning substitute and went 2-for-2 with a walk at the plate.
This loss drops Royal Oak to 7-5 overall on the season and improves the Rivets’ mark to an identical position. The two squads will jostle for positioning in the Great Lakes East standings on Sunday, with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. The game can be streamed for free on NWL+.
“It’s a 72-game season,” Faust said. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. A game like that, hopefully we just put it past us. Ten-second memory (like a goldfish).”
