After falling twice to the Waterloo Bucks in Waterloo, the Madison Mallards took the first step in turning around their second-half start with a 2-1 victory over the Alexandria Beetles Sunday night in Alexandria.

The Mallards scored both their runs in the first inning, getting RBI hits from Will Vogl and Danny Dressman. From there the first-half champs rode the arms of Nate Melek and Erik Walker to victory as the two combined to hold the league?s best hitting club to just one run on six hits.

Melek pitched five and one third effective innings, scattering one run on six hits to improve his record to 1-1. The Beetles, who as a team entered the game with a .283 batting average, found no better fortunes when Walker entered the game. The Mallards reliever threw three and two thirds innings of no-hit baseball while striking out five, earning his first save of the season.

Dressman finished the game as the only Mallard recording a multi-hit game, finishing two-for-three with an RBI.

The Mallards and Beetles hook up again Monday night in Alexandria as Robert Dickmann (0-1) takes on Mallard all-star J.J. Hollenbeck (6-0) in the finale of the two-game series. The Mallards return home to the Duck Pond Friday, July 22nd to take on the La Crosse Loggers at 7:05 p.m. Great seats for all remaining Mallards home games are still available and are available for purchase both online, at www.mallardsbaseball.com, or by calling the Mallards office at 246.4277.