Madison, WI – June 2, 2008. The rain at the “Duck Pond” did little to drown the Mallards bats, as they again were able to score at will in an 11-5 victory over the Mankato MoonDogs. The Mallards have scored 31 runs in their last three games, and are hitting .312 as a team in the samespan. Tonight’s win was the 12th straight for the Mallards over the MoonDogs, and moves the squad into a tie for first place with the Green Bay Bullfrogs in the South Division standings.
Brandon Wikoff (Illinois) shined in his third game in the leadoff spot. The shortstop went 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. He also swiped three bases. Since becoming the leadoff hitter on May 31 at Brainerd, Wikoff is hitting .538 (7-13) and has scored four runs. Eric Nielsen (Purdue, pictured below) and Don Lambert (Baylor) added two hits each for the Mallards, who scored three runs in each of the first three innings and sent 24 men to the plate in the those three frames. Scott Heitshusen (Michigan State, pictured left) started on the hill for the Mallards and threw six innings to earn the win. He allowed nine base hits and five earned runs on the night.
Both teams came out swinging in the first inning. The MoonDogs drew first blood, when first baseman Wes Freie singled home Nate Hanson. Heitshusen worked out of the inning with no further damage. In the bottom half of the inning the Mallards came storming back, scoring three runs on three hits. Wikoff led off the inning with a single and scored three batters later on a first-pitch single over third by Josh Groves (UW-Milw.). Nielsen then followed with a drive over the left fielder’s head that rolled to the wall, scoring Groves and Luke Stewart (UAB), who reached on a walk.
After the MoonDogs were set down in the second by Heitshusen, the Mallards got creative in their half of the inning. Lambert led it off with a rope to short that got through for a single, and went to third on an error by the second baseman on a Brian Smith (Northern Illinois) ground ball. On the very next offering by MoonDogs starter Thomas Phelps, Wikoff laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to third easily scoring Lambert. Wikoff reached on the play. Joe De Pinto (USC) followed that up with a single to left field that scored Smith, giving the Mallards a 5-1 lead. They would add one more before Russell Harben (South Alabama) struck out looking to end the inning.
The Mallards weren’t done in the home half of the third. Lambert smoked his second single through the infield, this time off the glove of a diving Cass Via at second. Smith then stepped to the plate and smacked Phelps’ offering over the right field wall in front of the scoreboard for the first home run for the Mallards this season. Wikoff then reached on an error and came around to score the ninth Mallards run on a throwing error following a Nielsen single, his second hit of the night.
The MoonDogs added a couple in both the fourth and the sixth. In the fourth they took advantage of three singles, and in the sixth it was a pair of doubles that did the damage. But that is all they would muster on the night, as Kyle Heim (Iowa), Nathan Kafka (Minnesota State) and Andy Deain (Northern Illinois) combined to throw three scoreless innings in relief of Heitshusen, allowing just two base hits.
The Mallards and the MoonDogs will do battle again tomorrow night at the “Duck Pond,” with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. The first 750 fans aged 21 and over will receive Steve Schmitt Commemorative Budweiser Pint Glasses. After the game with the MoonDogs, the Mallards will travel to Green Bay to face the Bullfrogs Wednesday and Thursday, before returning home for a game against La Crosse on Friday night.
