Just a couple of seasons ago the Rockford Riverhawks were the team to beat in the Frontier League.  They won the entire championship just a couple years back.  They were a dominating force, with seemingly unstoppable pitching and an offense that was the envy and fear of everyone else in their league.  With the start of the 2007 season, however, things appeared to be going far differently than they had in the past.

It has now been a season full of frustration.  The pitching has been spot-on when it comes to the starters, but the bull pen has let key games slip away.

The 2007 was going to be a different one from the start.  Before the first game of the season the team traded away their longest-continuous player, Adma Kroft.  Kroft had joined the Riverhawks in 2005 after showing up from San Diego where had been a farm hand.  He was traded to the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings for a player to be named later.

During the 2005 season, Kroft had set a team record with 43 appearances.  In 2005 he was 6 - 3 and had a 2.00 ERA.  For his entire career with the Riverhawks he was 13 - 5 with a save and a 3.15 ERA.  With this trade the longest player to be with the team fell to Matt Sauls, an outfielder.

The Riverhawks opened the season visiting Crestwood Illinois to face off against the Windy City Thunderbolts.  It was a game that was to help define both teams.  It was a high-scoring game, but frustrating for the Riverhawks while celebratory for the ‘Bolts.

The game started off with Riverhawks lead-off batter, Joe Anthonson getting hit by a pitch and, later, scoring on an RBI single from Joey Huskins.  The Riverhawks’ starting pitcher, John Gragg, ended with a no-decision after allowing 5 runs in 3 innings, striking out five and walking two.  The game ended with a 14 - 11 loss for the Riverhawks.

The Riverhawks had another game against the ‘Bolts, which they  lost 5 - 2.  They then came home for their home opener.  They were still facing off against the Windy City Thunderbolts, but the outcome was different.  The Riverhawks starting pitcher Dave Dowling got a win.  The game ended 5 - 3.

The game the following night was rained out.  The Riverhawks then traveled to Traverse City for a game.  They managed to beat the Beach Bums 6-4.  It was enough for people to start talking about a winning streak, albeit one that was currently only two games long.

It was to be a short-lived streak.  The very next night the Beach Bums beat the Riverhawks 6 - 3.  The following night the Riverhawks attempted a fantastic, and exciting, comeback against the Beach Bums and nearly overcame a six-run lead.  It was too little, however, and the Riverhawks lost a heartbreaker 9 - 7.

Within that series, the team made at least one addition to their roster.  On May 29, the team announced they had signed former New York Mets farmhand Alhaji Turay.  Turay had been the Mets’ second-round draft pick in 2001.

On May 20th, signs of the rest of the season reared their head again.  The Riverhawks played Traverse City again, this time at home.  They had the lead twice in the game, but were unable to protect either of them.  They ended up losing 9 - 8.  A streak was at hand, but not the one fans were hoping for.

The very next night the Riverhawks lost again, this time 5 - 1.  It was their fourth-straight loss.  This was despite a very strong performance from their starting pitcher, Dave Dowling.  The loss was to Kalamazoo.

The following night the Riverhawks snapped their losing streak.  Their offense came alive for 15 runs.  They won against Kalamazoo 15 - 3.  They managed to beat the Kings again the following night 8 - 7.  However, the Kings came right back the next night and edged out the Riverhawks 2 - 0.

The Riverhawks attempted to boost their pitching staff on June 5, with the announcement that they had signed Gerard Bryan.  Bryan is a rookie this season and a native of Wilmington.

Up next was a return match against the Windy City Thunderbolts, including a double-header to make up the rained out game.  The teams split the double-header.  The ‘Hawks then lost the next night.  The ‘Hawks returned the favor and beat the ‘Bolts the following night, but they lost the series when the Thunderbolts took the final game of the series.

In the middle of the series against the Thunderbolts, the Riverhawks signed a catcher with Robert Perkins.  At the same time they released a pitcher, Bobby Darling.  Darling left with no record, no saves and an ERA of 5.87 in five games.

The Riverhawks again faced the Traverse City Beach Bums.  They were unable to hold a lead in the first game and lost 13 - 9.  The ‘Hawks beat the Beach Bums 11 - 6 the following night only to lose 11 - 5 the next night.  On that last game the Beach Bums again came from behind and the ‘Hawks were unable to hold on to a lead.

On June 9, the Riverhawks announced that second baseman John Day had asked for, and received, his release.  Meanwhile, the very next day, the Riverhawks announced they had signed rookie pitcher Matthew Mehne.  Also, the Riverhawks announced they had signed Drew Himes, Roy Baca and Roy Bringelson as rookies.  They also released pitchers Gerard Bryan, John Brownwell  and Chad Catalano.

On June 12 the Riverhawks faced off against Traverse City again at home.  The game was highlighted by a spectacular catch by Jason James that helped save the game.  The Riverhawks beat the Beach Bums 5 - 4.

From that point forward, it was a rather miserable month for the Riverhawks.  They lost a series against the Chillicothe Paints.  They  lost another series against the Florence Freedom.

In a press conference on June 19, Riverhawks manager J.D. Arndt gave a press conference.  He stated that he still felt that the team had potential and some of the best starting pitching in the league.  However, he felt that the team needed to do something to boost the bull pen, which was still struggling to maintain leads and shut down opposing batters.  With about a quarter of the season gone, the team was below .500 and struggling to get back to that number.

On June 19, the Riverhawks announced that they had signed former top prospect Luke Hagerty.  He was a former top pick of the Chicago Cubs as a pitching prospect.  He became the highest drafted player ever to join the Riverhawks.

Things were about to become more encouraging for the Riverhawks as June came to a close.  They were to go on a nine-game wining streak.  They were to sweep the Freedom.  They then went on to win against the Kings with another sweep.  The streak came to an end on June 30 with a loss to the Windy City Thunderbolts.

Meanwhile, the Riverhawks announced they had released pitcher John Gragg and catcher Robert Perkins.  They signed a new catcher, Cory Vanderhook, on June 23rd.  On June 24th the Riverhawks announced the signing of pitchers Dane Towery and James Cramphin.

The ‘Bolts came back to win a game 9 - 4 to start off the month of July.  On July 3rd a record crowd at Road Ranger Stadium watched as the Thunderbolts soundly defeated the Riverhawks 8 - 1.  There were fireworks to ease the pain, however.

On July 2, the Riverhawks announced that they had acquired pitcher Dan Ziegler from the Northern League’s Joliet Jackhammers.  At the same time the ‘Hawks released catcher Victor Roldan to make room.

On July 4th the Riverhawks announced that three members of their team had been chosen for the Frontier League All-Star team.  They were Jason James, Mike Marksbury, and Shaun Parker.  On the 5th the fourth  member of the Riverhawks, Roberto Valiente, was added to the roster.

Despite this good news for the individual players, the Riverhawks were in the middle of a skid.  They lost on July 4 8 - 5.  They lost against the Grizzlies 2 -1 in 11 innings on July 5.  They lost their fifth straight on 8 - 3 on the 6th.

They snapped the losing streak on July 7 by beating the River City Rascals in Missouri 7 - 6.  It was an important game because they came from behind to win the game.

It was a short-lived victory, however, as the Riverhawks then lost the next to games against the Rascals. This lead them into the All-Star break on a loss and below .500 for the first half of the season.

The Riverhawks have a record of 21 wins and 25 losses at the mid-point.  They are in second-to-last place in the Central Division, just ahead of Traverse City.  The division is lead by the Windy City Thunderbolts with the Kalamazoo Kings right behind.

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