Ontario native Tanner Watson pitched seven innings for the win in the matinee and stayed perfect in Canada Day starts. Pitchers from Minnesota, the Dominican Republic and Russia combined to pitch two hitless innings of relief. Catcher Robert Sabates, a Cuban exile, was 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, in front of a near-sellout crowd of 2,643 at Road Ranger Stadium.
Doug Sanders, Jason James and Todd Martin had three hits each. James was 3-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 28 games. Brandon Cohen hit his first home run of the season.
Rockford scored three times in the first inning and led the rest of the way. The RiverHawks had four straight one-out hits, including RBI singles from Sabates and Martin. Caleb Fields increased the lead to 3-0 with a RBI groundout. Sanders singled home a run in the second inning. The RiverHawks added a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to chase Gateway starter Paige Dumont (0-1).
