LOVES PARK, Ill. – The Rockford RiverHawks scored nine runs in the seventh inning Saturday night to surge ahead and beat the Joliet Slammers 11-5 in the series opener at RiverHawks Stadium.
Trailing 5-2, the RiverHawks cut the deficit to 5-4 on a passed ball and wild pitch by Daniel Carela. Michael Hur followed with an RBI single to tie the game, and Carlos Luciano’s bloop single to right gave the RiverHawks the lead at 6-5.
Ted Obregon’s bases-loaded one-out walk made it 7-5. Jet Butler followed by launching a grand slam to right field off Brian Smith to put Rockford up 11-5. The grand slam was the RiverHawks’ first of the season.
Andrew Armstrong (1-0) earned the win with one inning of scoreless relief. Geoff Brown (0-2) was handed the defeat as he gave up four runs. Rockford’s Kyle Schepel pitched five innings of scoreless relief, striking out five.
The Slammers took a 5-0 lead as they loaded the bases in the first inning with one out and capitalized as Erik Lis hit an RBI single and David Fox followed with a three-run double to right-center field to give the Slammers a 4-0 lead. Fox advanced to third on an error, and he scored on a balk by Rockford starter Jack Crawford to give Joliet a 5-0 lead.
The RiverHawks loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first, but Joliet’s Tommy Mendoza escaped the jam unscathed.
Making his Frontier League Debut, Crawford lasted only one inning, giving up five runs on five hits.
The RiverHawks cut the lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Javier Herrera, but Mendoza got out of another bases-loaded jam, striking out Mike Thomas and getting Evan Button to ground out to end the inning.
“I told the guys if they load the bases a third time, they’ll break through,” manager Rich Austin said.
The RiverHawks improved to 15-24 on the season, while the reigning Frontier League champion Slammers fell to 17-23 and are losers of four straight.
Rockford sends Cody Hallahan (1-4, 4.66 ERA) to the mound Sunday to take on Joliet’s Jim Schult (2-2, 5.13 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.
Tomorrow is YMCA Family Day. Kids age 3-12 get in for $2 and can use the YMCA’s various inflatables and participate in other activites. Also, they get to run the bases after the game is over.
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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