By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
La Crosse, WI — July 16, 2013. The La Crosse Loggers (6-7, 27-21) offense woke up Tuesday night one night after scoring only two runs to give them a 12-5 victory over the Madison Mallards (10-5, 31-17) Tuesday night.
The Mallards struck hard early on by scoring four runs in the top of the second, but the Loggers responded with two of their own to regain momentum.
The four Mallards runs would be all the team would come by until the ninth, as Loggers starter Steve Hagen (Wooster College) and reliever Ben Cejka (UW-La Crosse) combined to shut them out over the next six innings before Geonte Jackson (San Jacinto CC) knocked in Drew Weeks (North Florida)—who doubled earlier in the inning—in the ninth.
The Loggers sent nine to the plate and knocked Mallards starter Greg Welsh (Penn State) out of the game two innings later in the bottom of the fourth. He lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed eight runs (all earned) on seven hits and three walks. He also struck out three.
The Mallards pitching staff issued 11 walks on the night and five of those came from newcomer Andrew Arenson (Carthage). He allowed three runs (no earned) but didn’t allow a hit in his inning of work. Shawn Hunter (Oklahoma State) and Corey Fischer (Madison College) also made appearances on the mound.
Jeff Zahn (Indiana State) knocked in two of the Mallards runs in the four-run second inning. John LaPrise (Virginia)—who extended his hitting streak to 12 games after a 1-for-4 day—knocked home the other two three batters later to round out the Mallards scoring.
Kevin Zak (Grand Valley State) hurt the Mallards for the second straight night by registering five RBIs on the night. He had three hits—including a double and a three-run home run in the fifth—one night after having a two-hit, two-RBI night. Weeks and Erik Forgione (Washington) were the two Mallards with multiple hits.
Welsh fell to 5-2 and saw his ERA rise to 5.05 on the night. Hagen improves to 6-1 with the win and Cejka picked up his first save of the night.
The Mallards return to the “Duck Pond” tomorrow for a 7:05 pm game against the Green Bay Bullfrogs and play the Bullfrogs at home again on Thursday at 7:05 pm. They will then travel to Green Bay on Friday to wrap up the three-game series.
Wednesday is Oscar Mayer Bacon Appreciation Night!
The Madison Mallards are your Northwoods League South Division First Half Champions! Playoff 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 is celebrating its 20th season.
