by Peter Geppert
Madison, Wisconsin. July 5, 2012 – Mallards left fielder Derek Fisher (Virginia) had his biggest night at the plate, going 2-4 with four RBIs, to propel the Madison Mallards (1-0, 17-19) to a 9-4 win over the Eau Claire Express (0-1, 11-24). The win gives the Mallards the opener of the three game series and a victory to start the second half of the season.
The Express got going in a hurry with a two run homer to left field off of Mallards starter Bobby Poyner (Florida) by catcher Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State). The blast scored shortstop Ty Forney (Texas-Permian Basin) and gave the Express a 2-0 advantage in the first inning.
In the bottom half of the inning the Mallards cut into their deficit with an RBI groundout by Fisher. After leading off the inning with a double, right fielder Tyler Marincov (North Florida) stole his 12th base of the season to get over to third base. Fisher was then able to hit a hard grounder to Express second baseman Tyler Wampler (Indiana State) who chose to take the out and allow Marincov to score.
The Mallards tied the game in the third inning with Fisher’s second RBI of the game. With two outs and
shortstop Tom Verdi (Connecticut) on second, Fisher roped a grounder up the middle that let Verdi score.
Fisher continued his big night at the plate with a two RBI single in the fifth inning that gave the Mallards their first lead of the game. With runners on second and third, Fisher was able to again drive a grounder back up the middle off of Express starter Matt Trowbridge (Central Michigan) to score Verdi and Marincov.
The Mallards continued to break the game open that inning, scoring three more runs with a two RBI single by first baseman Jeff Zimmerman (Northern Illinois) and a solo shot to right field by catcher Taylor Gushue (Florida). The homer was Gushue’s second of the season.
The Express chipped away at the lead in the seventh and eight innings with solo home runs from right fielder Nick Addison (UI-Chicago) and Forney respectively.
Poyner (1-0) earned his first win of the season with a solid 5.0 innings of work in which he allowed two runs on three hits. After giving up the Gillaspie homer, the lefty settled down nicely by only allowing one hit in his next 4.0 innings of work.
Trowbridge (2-2) took his second loss of the season after giving up the go ahead runs in the fifth inning. Through 4.0 innings of work the lefty gave up six runs on four hits while striking out two.
Fisher’s big day at the plate was not to overshadow Zimmerman on his 20th birthday. The lefty went 3-4 with a home run and three RBIs.
The Mallards continue their series with the Express tomorrow July 6th at the “Duck Pond”. That night will be the YP.com Quack Daddies Bobble Butt Giveaway and Stoddard’s Bratwurst Appreciation Night.
The 2012 season is upon us! Single-game tickets are on-sale for all Mallards home games!
The Madison Mallards are part of the 16-team Northwoods League. The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate League in North America.
