Often times ballplayers take their job too seriously, forgetting to enjoy themselves out on the baseball diamond; Ryan Rogowski however, is not one of those players and from his performance on the field for the Mallards this summer it is easy to see why the outfielder has so much fun at the ballpark.
Rogowski extended his league-leading hit total in the bottom of the first inning with a lead-off solo home run and the Mallards (18-11) never trailed Friday night en route to a 6-2 victory over the Waterloo Bucks (9-20). With the victory Madison stayed tied atop the Northwoods League South Division with the Rochester Honkers, who knocked off La Crosse 5-1.
Waterloo did manage to tie the game in the top of the second on a RBI single by Scotty Colt, but Madison responded with one in the fifth as Kris Rochelle singled to score Rogowski and the Mallards added more insurance the following inning.
Madison loaded the bases in the sixth with no one out as Ryan Bond stepped to the plate. Two runs would cross home, however, before Bond could even put the ball in play as Kelly Sweppenhiser scored the first run of the inning on a passed ball and Will Vogl scored on a wild pitch to give the Mallards a 4-1 lead.
Bond finally got the opportunity to take the bat off his shoulder made the most of the opportunity, tripling to center field which scored Danny Dressman. Rogowski added another RBI on his second hit of the night, a single that scored Bond. Rogowski finished the night two-for-three with two runs and two RBI.
Casey Baron (2-1) threw 5 1/3 solid innings for the Mallards, allowing just one run while striking out three. Tim Gudex came into the game with two outs and runners on second and third in the eighth and got the final out of the inning. Gudex pitched a scoreless ninth as well en route to his second save of the season.
The Mallards and Bucks finish their two-game series tomorrow night at 5:05 p.m. Adam Mills (2-1) takes the mound for the Mallards against a game-time decision for the Bucks
For tickets visit www.mallardsbaseball.com or call the Mallards ticket office at (608) 246-4277. Fans are reminded to stick around the ballpark Saturday to watch the Rhythm and Booms firework display as well as ?The Sandlot,? being shown on a big screen at the Duck Pond following the fireworks.
