August 21, 2007 - Evansville, Ind. - Just like last night's game, a big first inning for one team set the tone for the ball game. The only difference was that it was Evansville's turn to put runs on the board early, as they scored four in their opening inning.
After lead-off man Zack Pace was hit by a pitch, Tony Roth hit a single, and Mike Spry followed with a single of his own, bringing Pace across the plate. J.J. Owen then doubled home Roth, and scored on a Ryan Sickles sacrifice fly. The first inning scoring was completed as Ryan Rachal singled home Rhett Teller. Rockford got their first score in the second, when Otters starting pitcher Mike Murray threw a wild pitch that brought Joey Huskins home from third. The Otters got three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when 'Hawks starter Garrett Bauer forced in Owen after walking Rachal with the bases loaded. Pace then hit a two-run single that scored both Teller and Sickles.
Rockford got two more runs in the top half of the eighth, when Joe Anthonsen singled home Jono Brooks, and scored on a Matt Hagen ground out to the shortstop. Evansville scored twice more in the seventh inning, and got into double digits when Tony Roth scored after Matt Hagen lost a Dan Burton line drive in the bottom of the eighth. The Otters completed their scoring when Ryan Sickles grounded out to Anthonsen, sending Mike Spry across the dish.
Garrett Bauer (5-5) picked up the loss for Rockford, giving up seven runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. After not making it to the fifth inning in his start at Road Ranger Staduim, Mark Murray (3-3) earned the win for the Otters.
Rockford remains three games behind Kalamazoo in the Frontier League wild card race, as the Kings dropped a 10-2 decision to the Chillicothe Paints at Homer Stryker Field. The RiverHawks and Otters complete their series tomorrow night with a 7:05 start at Bosse Field. You can hear all the action with Bill Czaja on 1330 AM WNTA, starting with the Miller Lite pregame show at 6:50.
The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, a 12-team independent professional baseball league in its 15th season. Advertising and ticket information is available by calling the box office at (815) 885-2255. Most games are broadcast live on WNTA (1330 AM) and the internet. Fans can also visit the RiverHawks online at www.rockfordriverhawks.com.
|
>
