MADISON, WI – Kalamazoo would dig in for the final matchup at The Duck Pond on the 2017 campaign having come out victorious twice in yesterday’s doubleheader with the Madison Mallards – 5-3 the final in game one, 6-4 in the second of two.
Looking for revenge, the ducks flew out of the gates swinging on Friday. Credit Zac Taylor (Illinois) with a two out double to get things going for the hometown team. Taylor would eventually come around to score after a two out RBI single for Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville). The RBI single would be followed by an RBI double off the bat of the always dangerous Doran Turchin (Illinois), 2-0 early in favor of the Mallards.
Zac Taylor would strike again in the home half of the third inning with a solo shot out to left, 3-0 ducks early.
The Growlers would finally break Madison’s starter Tyler Dyson (Florida) of whom single-handedly dominated the Kalamazoo lineup from top to bottom for a majority of the evening. After a Mitch Bigras (Boston College) two out double, Ryan Orr (San Diego State) came through with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning. That single cut the deficit to two heading to the home half of inning number seven – 3-1 the score.
Final line for Tyler Dyson on the night – 6.2 innings pitched, five hits, one earned run, one walked batter, and eight punch outs.
The Mallards responded right away in the home half. Tommy Bullock with a no-doubt solo homerun would extend the Madison lead, 4-1.
Madison was still hungry for more. David Vinsky (Northwood) would come around to score off the bat of Maverick Handley (Stanford) on an RBI single. Handley would then cross the plate following a Tommy Bullock RBI single. Credit Zac Taylor with an RBI double to pad the lead some more. Sam Armstrong followed with a 2 RBI double, 9-1 ducks heading to the top of the ninth.
Kalamazoo would make some noise in the top half, plating two. However, it wasn’t enough as the Mallards snagged game three on the three game set and the final game on the season between the two ball clubs.
The Growlers will try again tomorrow night as the Wisconsin Woodchucks are in town for two. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM ET.
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 180 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.