By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
Madison, WI — July 30, 2013. Mankato MoonDogs (14-9, 31-27) starter Brock Dykxhoorn (West Virginia) allowed two runs over the first two innings Tuesday night but buckled down and shut down the Madison Mallards (16-9, 37-21) to guide the MoonDogs to a 6-2 win.
In the first, left fielder Joe McCarthy (Virginia) hit college teammate and leadoff hitter John LaPrise in on a single while Bre Kimbell (Louisiana Tech) knocked home Stewart on another single in the next inning.
It would be all the Mallards would manage against Dykxhoorn, as they never had two base runners on in an inning until the seventh against reliever Donovan Feenstra (U. of the Cumberlands). A walk and a Tate Matheny (Missouri State) single put runners on first and third with two outs in the inning but Feenstra got McCarthy looking on a breaking ball to end the inning.
Paul Miittura (Middle Tennessee St.) pitched a scoreless eighth but allowed a single and two walks to bring Drew Weeks (North Florida) to the plate with the bases loaded. Jess Amedee (UT-Arlington) then came in and struck out Weeks on four pitches to get the save.
Two walks to lead off the second came back to haunt Mallards starter Luke Staub (George Washington). After a single by MoonDogs catcher Matt Jones (Southern Illinois) and an error by Mallards third baseman Brock Stewart (Illinois State) that allowed to runs to score, Staub struck out a batter but then allowed a two-run single to leadoff man Hibraim Cordova (U. of the Cumberlands) to give them a 4-2 lead. Only two of those runs were earned.
Staub threw 36 pitches in the inning and had to exit because the Northwoods League limit of 35 pitches per inning. Charlie Naso (Illinois) then came in for the Mallards and pitched scoreless innings in the third and fourth but couldn’t get out of the fifth. He allowed two singles and was hurt by an error on shortstop Erik Forgione (Washington) and was replaced by Joe Claver (Illinois State) with two outs in the inning after giving up two runs. Claver walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases but got a groundout to end the inning.
Staub was tagged with the loss and drops to 3-4 while Dykxhoorn received the win after allowing two runs (both earned) on just four hits over his six innings of work. He improves to 3-3 on the year.
Ben Neumann (Northern Illinois) came on in the seventh and didn’t allow a hit over his three innings of work.
All but two MoonDogs batters recorded a hit on the night. Designated hitter Chase Simpson (Wichita State) went 2-for-5 with a double and catcher Matt Jones (Southern Illinois) finished 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored to pace the MoonDogs.
No Mallards batter had multiple base hits on the night. Kimbell ended up going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI while McCarthy finished 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The Mallards continue their nine-game homestand by hosting the Willmar Stingers tomorrow at 7:05 pm. Tomorrow is Summerween at the “Duck Pond!” There will be Trick-or-Treating on the field postgame and kids 12 and under in costume will get a free ticket. It will also be the American Red Cross Community Connection 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.
