FORRESTON — Two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning were the deciding factor as the Rochelle Hubs went north for a nonconference varsity game against Forreston on Monday.

Senior Carson Lewis threw a complete game for the purple and white, tossing six innings while striking out three batters and limiting Forreston to two hits. But the Cardinals were as effective on the mound, as Brendan Greenfield and Alec Schoonhoven combined for seven shutout frames and held Rochelle to three hits in a 2-0 win over the Hubs. Rochelle (9-19, 0-15 Interstate 8) will resume nonconference action with a road game at Harvard on Thursday.

Senior Ryan Senne and sophomore Andrew Huerta each reached on errors over the second and third frames, with Huerta reaching third base in the top of the third inning, but the Hubs were unable to convert their scoring opportunities into runs. Forreston (27-7, 8-2 NUIC) stranded three runners over the first three innings before breaking through in the bottom of the fourth inning, where bases-loaded walks to Brady Gill and Carson Akins resulted in two runs.

Juniors Brode Metzger and Van Gerber singled over the fourth and fifth innings, but Rochelle couldn’t cash in during either frame. The Hubs put two runners on in the top of the sixth inning, where sophomore Brody Bruns delivered a one-out single, but a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop Kendall Erdmann led to the second out and a strikeout ended the scoring threat. 

Metzger reached on an error and advanced to second on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh inning, but three consecutive outs stranded Metzger on base and clinched the Forreston win.