The Mallards suffered their first loss of the second half in game one of a doubleheader against the Mankato MoonDogs. Fortunately, the Mallards responded with a win in the second game as they moved to 4-1 overall.
The Friday night doubleheader was scheduled to make up for a rain-postponed game July 6, in Mankato. The opening game resumed from Tuesday, with Madison and Mankato tied 1-1 after the game was postponed due to rain after the first inning. In Friday?s doubleheader, Madison and Mankato played two seven inning games, with a brief intermission between. Billy Phillips (2-2) pitched 6 1/3 innings in game one, giving up two earned runs and striking out six in a losing effort. The tie was broken in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Mankato scored the winning run, a 2-1 final.
Six of ten Mallards sent to the plate recorded hits, but not one turned out a multi-hit night, as the Mallards got six total hits, while recording two errors. Recently named South Division All-Stars Greg Thomson, Ryan Rogowski, Chad Frk and Jay Johnson each went 1-for-3 from the plate. But, the Mallards were held scoreless in the game. Ryan Rogowski recorded the Mallards sole RBI on Tuesday, before that game was postponed.
In game two, another seven inning contest, the Mallards jumped on the MoonDogs early, and kept Mankato at bay to pick up their fourth victory in five second half games. After being held scoreless by the MoonDogs in game one, Madison scored four runs in the first inning, which would be more than enough as the Mallards cruised to a 5-1 victory.
Cody Hall, Shaun Corning, and Zach Peterson each made significant pitching contributions for the Mallards. Hall (2-1) got the win, going four innings and striking out two. The Mallards were not perfect defensively, but were able to take advantage of five Mankato errors in game two.
Catcher John Martin was the most productive Mallards player from the plate, with two RBIs on a 2-for-3 night. Mike Dury and Jeff Bieker also contributed an RBI apiece.
Tickets for Mallards home games are available online at www.mallardsbaseball.com and at our ticket office located at 2920 N. Sherman Ave.
