Fielders' four homers beat RiverHawks, 7-3
July 3, 2010 - Northern League (NL)
Rockford RiverHawks News Release
LOVES PARK, Ill. - The Fielders hit it out of the field four times on Saturday.
Lake County's Brian McFall, Kyle Higgins, Jeff Dunbar and Amos Ramon each hit home runs as the Fielders beat the Rockford RiverHawks, 7-3, in the first meeting between the Northern League's newest franchises. Patrick O'Sullivan broke the shutout with a leadoff home run off Lake County starter Zach Ward in the eighth inning.
The Fielders won for the fifth time in their last six games, in front of a near-sellout crowd of 2,579 at Road Ranger Stadium. Rockford moved from the Frontier League after last season. Lake County is an expansion team, but many key players, including Higgins and Ramon, were regulars with the Frontier League's Kalamazoo franchise.
Rockford starter Brett Durand gave up two-run homers to McFall in the first inning and Higgins in the second. Durand allowed an unearned run in the third inning and left after Dunbar's leadoff homer to left-center field in the sixth inning. Durand (4-3) struck out five and walked one, but Saturday's start was the third straight time he allowed at least five earned runs.
Ramon's homer in the seventh inning gave the Fielders a 7-0 lead.
Ward (2-5) won for the first time in five starts. He struck out six without a walk and 60 of his 85 pitches were strikes. Ward held Rockford to two runs on six hits over eight innings.
The series finale, and the RiverHawks' last home game for nearly two weeks, is at 4:05 p.m. Sunday. It's Costcutters Family Day, when kids can run the bases and players will sign autographs following the game. Early arrivals receive a Kyle Wright large-format baseball card. In addition, Midwest Rail Junction and the Illinois Railway Museum sponsor free train rides on the RiverHawks Express.
Northern League Stories from July 3, 2010
- T-Bones Win Sixth Straight, 7-6 - Kansas City Monarchs
- Nowicki, Bourquin go deep for first time this season - Schaumburg Flyers
- Railcats beat Flyers in 15-7 slugfest - Schaumburg Flyers
- Four Run Second Pushes Goldeyes Past JackHammers 5-2 - Joliet JackHammers
- Hard-Hitting RailCats Win Third Straight, Blast Flyers 15-7 - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Fielders' four homers beat RiverHawks, 7-3 - Rockford RiverHawks
- Game Tonight at 7:10 PM - Joliet JackHammers
- RiverHawks Add Two - Rockford RiverHawks
- Flyers fall in Rockford - Schaumburg Flyers
- Flyers can't halt the skid - Schaumburg Flyers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
