By Noah Chavez

LOVES PARK, Ill. – Coming into the final two games of their road trip on a seven-game winning streak, the Royal Oak Leprechauns dropped both games against the Rockford Rivets over the weekend.

In the opener, the Leprechauns kept it close until the eighth inning, when the Rivets put up six runs to cap off a 13-5 victory. Offensively, Royal Oak only had five hits, with Patrick Ilitch leading the way with a pair of knocks. On the pitching side, Danny Newman struck out two of the three batters he faced in his scoreless inning.

In game two, the final score was a bit closer, but Rockford maintained control the majority of the game, finishing off the sweep with an 8-5 win. 

Royal Oak’s big inning came in the fourth, when Luke Kosko hit his 12th home run of the season to score two runs, and Tate Deal later tied the game at 4-4 with a two-RBI base hit.

Outside of the fourth, the Leprechauns’ only other run came on a Mark Collins eighth inning single, but the Rivets had already taken the lead and would seal the win with a scoreless ninth.

After the losses, Royal Oak dropped to second place in the Great Lakes East, sitting just 0.5 games behind Traverse City for the top spot with 20 games left in the regular season.

With the Leprechauns enjoying their final scheduled off day of the summer on Monday, the team is back in action at home on Tuesday for a four-game series against Richmond. First pitch from The Lucky Corner is set for 6:35 p.m. ET.

Tickets can be purchased on the team’s website or at the gate. Fans can also follow the team across all social platforms to stay up to date.