Green Bay, WI – June 14, 2009. Mallards designated hitter Joe Patterson’s (Texas A&M) RBI double in the seventh inning proved to be the game’s winning hit as the team got back into the winning column in a 6-4 victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs at Joannes Stadium Sunday evening.
The Mallards were the first to hang a crooked number on the scoreboard after Kurtis Muller (Iowa) and Adam McClain hit solo home runs in the fourth inning to give the team a 2-0 lead.
However the Bullfrogs answered back in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own to reclaim the lead at 3-2. Nick O’Shea (Minnesota) led off the Green Bay fourth, reaching on a two-base throwing error, before Semel, Torrente, and Joel Hutter (Des Moines Area CC) hit consecutive singles. Chris Schaeffer (North Carolina State) and Sam VandenHeuvel (Rhode Island) capped the scoring run with RBI walks for a 3-2 lead.
The Mallards then re-answered in the fifth inning when Troy Channing (St. Mary’s) led off with a single followed by a walk by newcomer Jimmy Parque (St. John’s). After catcher Tyson Blaser (Iowa) was unable to lay down a bunt to move the runners over, Hawkeye teammate Muller bailed him out with an RBI single to score pinch-runner JR Graham (Santa Clara) and tie the game at 3-3.
In the sixth, a gigantic solo shot by Mark Ginther (Oklahoma State) gave the Mallards the lead at 4-3.
The Bullfrogs weren’t about to give up just yet. They would add another run in the bottom half of the frame off right-handed reliever Brad Allen (Elgin CC) to re-tie the game at 4-4.
The back-and-forth affair saw the Mallards take the lead for good in the seventh inning after Joe De Pinto (USC) led off the frame with a walk and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw by the Bullfrogs pitcher. After a McClain strikeout, Patterson then strolled to the plate and calmly stroked a double to left field, easily scoring De Pinto. Ginther then roped a single to left field but the non-speedy Patterson was easily cut down at the plate in trying to score.
Madison would add another run in the eighth on a Parque double to left that scored Jerrud Sabourin (Indiana) who led off the inning by being hit by a pitch.
Starting pitcher Matt Jansen (Purdue) picked up his third win of the season after throwing five innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits. His ERA now stands at 2.16 on the year.
Denny Clement (Texas A&M) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save of the season.
The Mallards and Bullfrogs conclude their two-game set tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. Don’t miss a single moment of action by tuning in to ESPN Radio 100.5 FM all season long or by clicking on the “Game Day” tab on Mallardsbaseball.com.
The team returns home Tuesday night for a two-game set versus the Waterloo Bucks at the “Duck Pond” with gametime slated to start at 7:05 p.m. for both contests.
