Green Bay heads back to Capital Credit Union Park with chance to advance to Great Lakes Championship Game Monday night
Madison, Wis.- In game one of the Great Lakes West sub-divisional round of the Northwoods League Playoffs, the Green Bay Rockers defeated the Madison Mallards 8-4 Sunday night at Warner Park, handing them the 1-0 series lead in the best of three series with the Rockers now needing one more win to advance to the Great Lakes Championship game.
The Rockers scored eight unanswered runs to pull ahead from the Mallards late, as despite Madison scoring early on a two-run homer in the first inning, Green Bay scored their next eight runs to give themselves the commanding advantage on the road in Madison.
The Mallards struck first in the bottom of the opening inning courtesy of a two-run homer from Keenan Taylor (Purdue), as the home run over the left field wall handed Madison the early 2-0 advantage through the first inning of play at Warner Park.
After a scoreless inning on both sides, the Rockers evened up the scoring at two apiece courtesy of a wild pitch that scored Zane Zielinski (Illinois-Chicago) from third and after an RBI double from JoJo Jackson (Georgia St), Green Bay found themselves all evened up at 2-2 going into the fourth, following a second consecutive scoreless inning from starting pitcher Brett Sanchez (Belhaven).
With Sanchez continuing to cruise on the hill in the middle innings, the Rockers offense remained patient at the plate, but neither team broke through in the fourth and fifth innings as the score stayed evened up at 2-2 entering the sixth inning of play.
Green Bay broke through for three runs in the top of the sixth with a two-RBI single off the bat of Sam Polk (Washington University-St Louis) and an RBI single from Kendal Ewell (Illinois-Chicago) handing the Rockers their first lead of the game at 5-2 through five and a half innings of play at Warner Park.
After Sanchez finished his outing strong in the bottom of the sixth by throwing his fifth scoreless inning in a row, Michael Riley (Gateway Community College) came in relief and threw a scoreless inning himself in the seventh, keeping Green Bay ahead by three with the contest approaching the eighth in Madison.
The Rockers tacked on two more in the top of the eighth courtesy of another RBI single from Ewell and a passed ball that scored Max Mims (Southwestern University) from third, extending their advantage to 7-2 with Riley set to return on the mound in the bottom of the eighth.
Following another scoreless inning from Riley in the eighth, Nainoa Cardinez (Hawaii) pushed the Rockers advantage to six at 8-2 off an RBI double to right, giving Green Bay their largest lead of the night heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Tyler Horvath (Case Western Reserve) threw the last frame of the contest and despite the Mallards hitting another two-run homer to trim their deficit to 8-4, Horvath retired the last two batters he faced to seal the deal for Green Bay, winning game one of the best of three series against the Mallards.
The Rockers and Mallards are now set for game two of the potential three-game series taking place Monday night, with first pitch from Capital Credit Union Park set for 6:35 p.m. The pregame concert performed by Conscious Pilot will begin at 5:30 p.m. with there also being a rally towel giveaway for the first 1,000 fans in attendance.
Playoff tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office and Team Apparel Fan Shop at Capital Credit Union Park are located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.