LOVES PARK, Ill.- With a potential postseason berth coming up Saturday afternoon, the Rockford University baseball team looked to get some work in Wednesday night in a non-conference game. The Illinois Wesleyan Titans traveled to Aviator Stadium to face the Regents. It would be another close battle for the Regents, with the game not being decided until the 12th inning.
Rockford got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Jacob Gorsuch (Cherry Valley, Ill./Jefferson) started the inning with a walk. One batter later Joe Rigg (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) reached via catcher's interference. Both runners then advanced a base on a wild pitch. Chris Senn (Victorville, Calif./Silverado) came up with two-outs and delivered a two-run single to right center.
The Titans came back the next half-inning with a run of their own. They doubled to lead-off the inning and then had a RBI single with two-outs off the starting pitcher Rigg. Rigg would go four innings in his first start of the season giving up the one run on two hits, one walk, and he struck out four batters.
The one-run lead would hold until the top of the seventh inning when the Titans got to Regents reliever James Northrup (Rockford, Ill./Winnebago). Rockford made an error on the first batter of the inning and he ended up to come around to score on a two-out double. Northrup pitched three-innings of relief giving up the one unearned run on three hits, three walks (one intentional), and he struck out two batters.
Both teams threatened to score at various times the next four innings but neither team was able to get a hit with a runner in scoring position. Rockford had a runner on second base with no outs in the bottom of the tenth but could not advance him. The Titans were finally able to break the two all tie in the top of the 12th inning with two runs off of Gorsuch who was in his fifth inning of relief. Rockford was able to get two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the 12th but once again could not get them in, ending the game 4-2 in favor of Illinois Wesleyan.
Rockford's season continues tomorrow with a double-header against the Maranatha Baptist Bible College. Two seven-inning games are scheduled with a start time of four p.m.
