Online Staff Report

LOVES PARK, Ill. — Michael Hur’s two-homer night and Ziggie VanderWall’s strong outing on the mound Monday, June 11, helped the Rockford RiverHawks prevail 12-8 over the Windy City Thunderbolts in the series opener.

Hur’s first homer, a solo shot to left field off starter Mike Recchia in the fourth inning, gave Rockford a 3-2 lead. The RiverHawks would score 4 runs in the fifth inning, all after two outs, capped off by an opposite-field, three-run homer by Hur, his team-leading sixth of the year, to put Rockford ahead 7-2.

Hur added an RBI infield single in the eighth inning to finish three-for-five with five RBI, the second straight day a Rockford player tallied that mark as Javier Herrera was four-for-five with five RBI in a 16-5 win over the Miners Sunday, June 10.

“We have a quality middle of the lineup guy (Hur) batting in the seventh hole. He’s an excellent hitter,” Manager Rich Austin said.

VanderWall (2-1) earned the win on the mound for Rockford, pitching 5 2/3 innings while giving up six hits and four runs, three earned, walking three, and striking out eight batters, including the first four batters of the game.

Recchia (3-1) was saddled with the loss on the mound as he gave up 10 hits and nine runs, eight earned, while striking out 10 in 6 1/3 innings pitched to raise his season ERA from 1.37 to 3.31.

The Thunderbolts would get two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to close the gap to 7-6, but the RiverHawks would score two in the seventh and three in the eighth to increase the lead to 12-6.

Mickey Cassidy entered the game in the eighth inning and earned his first save of the season, giving up two runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched.

Herrera went three-for-four with two runs scored, raising his season average to .410. Matt Greener went two-for-four with a pair of RBI doubles, and Daniel Gonzalez went two-for-four with 2 RBI.

Chris Wade went three-for-six for the Thunderbolts, while Jereck West was two-for-four with two RBI.

Rockford sends righty Mike Lee (0-0, 0.84 ERA) to the mound to make his second start of the season Tuesday, June 12, and Windy City will counter with righty Stephen Sauer (2-0, 2.31), with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.

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 ^[1].

Posted June 12, 2012