By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
Green Bay, WI — June 14, 2013. The Madison Mallards (8-6) head back to Green Bay to take on the Bullfrogs (7-9) and will try for their fifth win in their last six games Friday night at Joannes Stadium.
The Mallards hung on to win a nail-biter Thursday night in Wisconsin Rapids by beating the Rafters by a score of 4-3. The Rafters loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth off of Mallards closer Hunter May (UNC-Charlotte), but May responded by inducing a fly out to short right field and then struck out Erik Payne (Virginia Tech) to end the game.
The Rafters also left multiple runners on in the second, fourth, sixth and eighth innings.
Tate Matheny (Missouri State) and Erik Forgione (Washington) led the Mallards offensively. Matheny hit a two-run home run in the top of the second while Forgione hit a solo shot in the top of the fifth.
Nick Hibbing (Iowa) got the win and improved to 1-2 on the year by allowing no runs on two hits in the fifth inning.
Cam Verbeke (Illinois State) will be looking to improve to 2-0 on the year and will be making his fourth appearance and first start tonight for the Mallards. He picked up the win in the Mallards 4-2 win against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on June 5th by going 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit. He also struck out six. So far this season, Verbeke still has an ERA of 0.00 in 7.1 innings and has struck out 10 and walked only two.
Bullfrog Blues
The Mallards are 0-2 against the Bullfrogs this season and committed six errors in those two contests, which took place on June 2nd and June 3rd. The Mallards committed four in their 6-5 loss on June 2nd and botched two more in their 7-5 loss on June 3rd. The Mallards jumped out to an early lead in both games.
Nifty Newcomers
The Mallards two most recent position player additions have had some very productive games over the last few days. Erik Forgione (Washington) has five hits in just seven at-bats—including a home run—and has an on-base percentage of .750 so far for the Mallards. Catcher Jason Goldstein (Illinois) has four hits in 11 at-bats—including a double—and has knocked in a run. Defensively, he has thrown out three base runners.
The Mallards have also activated pitcher Jack Livingston (Northwestern) for tonight’s game.
Up Next:
The Mallards will head back to the “Duck Pond” Saturday for a 6:05 pm game against the Bullfrogs. The Dentistry for Madison Turn Back the Clock Night with Dr. Jay Hazen will take place that night. There will also be a Muskies Hat Giveaway and post-game fireworks presented by Budweiser.
The 2013 season is upon us! Single-game tickets are on-sale now!
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 Baseball League in North America. In 2013, the Northwoods League will celebrate its 20th season.
