Control Issues Haunt Rivets in Loss to Mallards

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Northwoods Rockford Rivets

Control Issues Haunt Rivets in Loss to Mallards

June 17, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Rockford Rivets News Release


ROCKFORD, Ill. - Tuesday's game was a wild one... and not in a good way.

The Rivets (12-9) had a nightmarish night on the mound, struggling mightily with control issues in a game that quickly slipped away late in a loss to the Madison Mallards (13-7), 17-8. After a dominant victory in Madison for the Rivets a night ago, the Mallards came away with their revenge in the final meeting of a four-game season series in which both home-and-home series ended in splits.

"A lot of good was done tonight that won't be remembered and honestly, not even worth talking about because of how we finished," head coach Chase Brewster said.

Coming off Monday's game in which Rockford took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, it was the Mallards who struck first in this one. After loading the bases on a single and a pair of walks, Madison jumped in front early on a sacrifice fly off Rivets starting pitcher Aiden Adams (Montreat), who was making his summer debut.

But the Rivets quickly responded on a big swing by Sam Flores (Kansas State) in the bottom of the inning. After Ty Waid (McLennan) missed a homer by mere feet and had to settle for a long single, Flores crushed a two-run home run to right field to bring them both home and put the Rivets on top after the first frame. It's the third consecutive game in which the Rivets have scored multiple first inning runs.

The Rivets' power surge continued an inning later when Jackson Forbes blasted a two-run homer of his own, his second long ball of the season. After recording just five home runs in their first 18 games, the Rivets have now gone deep eight times in their last three games.

"All year we've gotten in good counts, we've led the league in walks and OBP for a very long time, but if you don't hit the ball in the air, you can't hit a home run," Brewster said. "I'm excited to just see us get some over the last couple days."

The Rivets' pitching staff ran into some trouble in the third, forcing head coach Chase Brewster to turn to use three different pitchers to complete the inning. The Mallards loaded the bases against Adams with three consecutive singles, causing Brewster to turn to Jake Gibson (Daytona State) for the second straight day. Gibson got two outs, then giving way to Ben Catrambone (Limestone) who retired the final Mallard of the inning with a strikeout. But Madison was able to even things at four first.

The Mallards put another three-run inning together in the fifth to grab the lead. They drew two walks, tallied another sacrifice fly and hit four singles, the last of which was an infield dribbler that ended up plating two thanks to some heads up baserunning on a throw over to first. The Mallards would go on to tack on another in the sixth on their third sacrifice fly.

After the pair of two-run homers early, the Rivets were held quiet by Mallards starter Charlie West and his big fastball - one that sat consistently at 94 miles per hour - over the next three innings. The lefty struck out seven and allowed just one baserunner after Forbes's second inning home run.

After West was removed after 5, the Rivets climbed back into the game with a big sixth inning. A hit by pitch and a walk set up Tate Shimao (Hawaii), who drove in two on a double down the line for his first two RBI since returning from an ankle injury. With two outs, Forbes notched his third RBI of the night on a single to cut the deficit to just one.

Forbes was named the Peak Sports Club Player of the Game after going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI.

"When he's really good, he's as good as all of them," Brewster said. "I'm proud of Jackson."

The Mallards were gifted a couple much-needed insurance runs in the eighth without needing a hit. A pair of wild pitches by Aidan Wagley (Ecclesia) got Madison to double digits. The Rivets got one back on a passed ball in the bottom half, but it soon mattered little.

Things came completely unglued for the Rivets in the ninth to put an exclamation point on a frustrating night. They walked the first five Mallards of the inning, allowing seven total runs to score on just two hits.

Ultimately, the Rivets' pitchers just couldn't hold the Mallards off the basepaths and struggled to find the strike zone throughout the night. Along with the Mallards' 15 hits, the Rivets issued a season-high 18 walks. 17 runs matches the most they've allowed in a game this season.

The Rivets had chances to break through and retake control on several occasions, but they failed to put out the Madison fire one too many times.

"We control the momentum," Brewster said. "We have to stop allowing people to take the momentum from us, and that's what happened tonight."

The Rivets will be back at Rivets Stadium on Wednesday for a doubleheader against the Green Bay Rockers. The first game will begin at 1:05 p.m. and the second will begin at 6:05 p.m.



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