The Mallards made a habit out of scoring runs early en route to their first half South Division Championship. But Saturday night it was the Waterloo Bucks (13-23) that jumped on the Mallards (23-13) early, en route to a 7-3 victory over Madison in front of 2,654 at Riverfront Stadium.

Waterloo put a three spot on the board in the second inning and added another run in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. That would be all the Bucks starting pitcher Tony Bilek would need as he picked up his second win of the season. Casey Baron picked up the loss for Madison, pitching four innings and allowing only two earned runs.

The Mallards pitching staff struggled in Waterloo for the second straight night, allowing Scott Kaskie and Michael Bertram to each finish the night three-for-five at the plate. For Madison, Catcher Jordan Comadena plated all three runs for the first-half champs

The Mallards fall to 0-2 in the second half and return to action in Alexandria for a two-game series before the All-Star break. The Mallards return home Friday, July 22 to take on the La Crosse Loggers. For tickets visit www.mallardsbaseball.com or call the Mallards ticket office at (608) 246-4277.