RiverHawks drop opener to Wild Things, 3-1

08/21/2012 2:37 PM -

LOVES PARK, Ill. – The Rockford RiverHawks committed three errors Tuesday and fell 3-1 to the Washington Wild Things in the series opener at RiverHawks Stadium.

Washington broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the fifth inning. AJ Nunziato led off the inning with a double and advanced to third as Rich Devereaux reached on an error by first baseman Trevor Whyte. Jim Vahalik followed with a sacrifice fly to right to give the Wild Things a lead they never relinquished.   Darian Sandford singled home Devereaux with two outs to extend the lead to 2-0. 

Sandford stole two bases to extend his Frontier League-leading total to 61, but he was also caught stealing twice by Mike Thomas.

Casey Barnes (5-7) pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run to earn the win. 

Rockford cut the lead in half on an RBI double by Brandon Anderson in the bottom of the fifth, but Washington tacked on another unearned run in the sixth to go up 3-1 as Jet Butler made two errors at second base in the frame.

Cody Hallahan (5-8) took the loss despite giving up just one earned run on five hits in six innings of work. In eight of Hallahan’s 17 starts this season, the RiverHawks’ offense has scored two or fewer runs.

The RiverHawks loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Brandon Anderson popped up to shallow center and Jimmy Parque bounced into an inning-ending double play. 

Orlando Santos pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth save of the season. 

The series continues tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. as the probables on the mound are Washington’s Gary Lee (5-4, 2.56 ERA) and Rockford’s Kyle Schepel (3-5, 2.90 ERA). 

Tomorrow is Unused Ticket Night at RiverHawks Stadium. Fans with unused tickets from earlier in the season can exchange them for tickets for the game.

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.