05/27/2012 6:57 PM - LOVES PARK, Ill. - The Rockford Riverhawks were unable to pick up a victory in the series finale against the Lake Erie Crushers on Sunday afternoon, falling 12-10 in a slugfest at RiverHawks Stadium .
The two teams combined for 33 hits on the afternoon, but Rogelio Noris’ two-run single in the Crushers’ five-run sixth inning proved to the be the difference.
The RiverHawks started the scoring in the second inning as Matt Greener had a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Devin Shepherd. Elvin Millan Jr. , who finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBI, put the RiverHawks ahead 2-0 with a two-out RBI single.
However, the Crushers would respond in the fourth inning with two runs to nod the score at 2-2. The RiverHawks then responded with three runs in the bottom half, including an RBI double by Javier Herrera, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI doubles.
Michael Hur followed with a two-run home run off Crushers’ starting pitcher Trevor Longfellow, his first of the season, to put the RiverHawks up 5-2, but the Crushers would answer with four runs in the top of the fifth, including a three-run homer to center field by Andrew Davis off of RiverHawks’ starting pitcher Kevin Patterson. Davis would finish 3-for-6 with five RBI on the day.
With the Crushers up 6-5, the RiverHawks would bat around and score four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 9-6 lead, including Jet Butler’s leadoff home run, his second homer in as many nights. The Crushers would respond with five runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 11-9 lead, including a pair of two-run singles from Davis and Norris off relievers Drew Rucinski (1-1) and Garrett Granitz.
The RiverHawks would score once in the sixth inning on Herrera’s third RBI double of the game, but Crushers’ relievers Ben Klafczynski (1-0), who earned the win by giving up one run in 2 1/3 innings of relief, and Jonathon Kountis, who earned his third save of the season, would prevent the RiverHawks from a comeback.
Lake Erie’s Robby Kuzdale would add a solo homer to left field off reliever Theron Minium to give the Crushers a 12-10 lead.
The game-time temperature at the stadium was 98 degrees and the time of the game was 3 hours and 38 minutes, the RiverHawks’ longest of the season.
The RiverHawks are off tomorrow for Memorial Day, but they remain at home starting on Tuesday night as they play host to the Normal CornBelters. First pitch Tuesday night is set for 7:05 p.m., with kids eating free that night.
The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, an independent professional baseball league in its 20th season. Games are broadcast on NTA-FM (100.5). Advertising and ticket information is available by calling (815) 885-2255. Fans can also visit www.rockfordriverhawks.com.
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