The Madison Mallards found themselves behind a large eight ball right away in Tuesday night?s game at Waterloo and the Ducks could never recover. The Bucks took a commanding 8-0 lead after three innings and never looked back as they coasted to an 8-3 victory over the Ducks in front of 1,219 fans at Riverfront Stadium. The Mallards record now stands at 6-3.
The Bucks got the scoring started right away in their half of the first. Ryan Hasting and Mike Brown opened the game with back-to-back singles to put runner at the corners with nobody out. Mallards starter Brian Smith was able to get the third batter, Robert Matlock, to strike out but only after Brown had stole second to put runners at second and third. Hastings would later score and Brown move to third on a Smith wild pitch to make the score 1-0 early on in favor of Waterloo. The Bucks designated hitter Jeff Lanning then got involved with a single down the left field line to score Brown and make the score 2-0 after one.
Waterloo was far from done. After the Mallards were retired one-two-three in the top of the second, the Bucks went right back to work. Catcher Shea Robin opened with a single and moved to second on a Damon Aaron infield single, again putting two runners on with nobody out. The next batter, Jeff Whitlow, attempted what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt but ended up beating out Smith?s throw to first to load the bases. Dane Hamilton followed with a fielder?s choice grounder to second that plated Robin and gave the Bucks a 3-0 lead. Still with only one out, Hamilton was able to steal second and move to third on a fielding error by shortstop Gary Arndt that also allowed Aaron to score from third and make the score 4-0. That brought Hastings back to the plate who delivered his second single of the night to score Hamilton and make the score 5-0 at the end of two
The Bucks still weren?t finished, however, adding three more in the third before the Mallards could even scratch out a hit versus Bucks starter Nate McDonald.
The Ducks were finally able to break through in the fourth. With two outs, Jordan Comadena singled to right field and scored on a Spencer Steedley double to make the score 8-1. The next batter, Randy Molina, then singled to center bringing Steedley (pictured below) home to give the Mallards their second run of the night.
The Mallards would add one more in the sixth but it wouldn?t be enough to overcome the Bucks early offensive outburst and the Mallards dropped just their third game of the second half.
The Mallards take on the Waterloo Bucks again on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. Hear all the action with Aaron Sims on Madison?s Fox Sports Radio 100.5 FM or online at www.mallardsbaseball.com.
The Mallards return home on Thursday, July 20, to take on the LaCrosse Loggers. It will be Sports Impressions T-Shirt Night. The first 1,000 fans 14 and under will receive a free Mallards T-shirt courtesy of Sports Impressions. It will also be Budweiser Pint Glass Night #4. The first 1,000 fans 21 and over will receive the fourth in a series of five Budweiser Pint Glasses to be given away at the Duck Pond this summer.
Great seats are still available. Order yours now by visiting www.mallardsbaseball.com or calling 246.4277.
