The Green Bay Bullfrogs held the Madison Mallards scoreless through seven full innings to come away with an eventual 3-2 victory at the Duck Pond Thursday. The loss keeps the Mallards away from the tight race for first place in the South Division, which is moving back and forth between Madison, Green Bay and Wisconsin.
After trailing three runs to none heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Mallards put together an exciting rally, scoring two runs to cut the deficit to one, but relief pitcher Kurt Yacko entered the game to record the last out, striking out Jordan Comadena with a runner stranded.
The Bullfrogs started the game off, not wasting any time to score, as leadoff batter Daniel Robertson took advantage after being hit by a pitch. During the next at-bat, Robertson stole second and later advanced to third on a passed ball. Bullfrog Danny Meier earned the RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Meier struck twice more in the fourth and the sixth, cashing in a run after his ground-rule double to left field in the top of the fourth frame. That run increased the lead to 2-0, but he was not quite done. In the sixth, Meier drew a walk and advanced to second on the next play after an error. After reaching third on a Green Bay single, Meier scored the visiting team’s third run of the ballgame off a flyout to center.
The winning pitcher of the night was starter Nick Sottung (1-1, pictured), who put together a stellar performance, going 7.0 innings, five hits and no runs allowed. Nick Kirk (1-1) took the loss, despite holding the Bullfrogs to three hits and not letting up an earned run. Kirk went 5.0 innings before being replaced by Craig Meier.
For video highlights of the game, click here.
The Mallards have two games to go in their four-game homestand, as they will take on Thunder Bay in a two-game series starting Friday at 7:05 p.m. at the Duck Pond. Friday is Quench Gum Hockey Night, and the Mallards will be sporting hockey-style jerseys to welcome the only Canadian team in the NWL. The Zooperstar mascots will be around Warner Park to entertain the fans, so come out for an exciting night.
Great seats are still available for the game and can be purchased by visiting mallardsbaseball.com or calling 246.4277.
