By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
Madison, WI — August 13, 2013. Kyle Ruchim’s (Northwestern) first two home runs in a Mallards uniform are going to be ones he will remember for the rest of his life.
With the Mallards down 7-6 with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Ruchim blasted a 2-0 offering from Chinooks reliever Mitchell Sewald (LSU) into the left field suites for a three-run home run. After the Mallards had already put up three more insurance runs just one inning later, the the 5’10,” 185-pound sophomore hit a two-run shot to almost the exact same spot to give the Mallards an insurmountable 14-8 lead that would end up being the final score.
Danny Sullivan (Davenport) relieved Ben Neumann (Northern Illinois) in the eighth after Mike Papi (Virginia) hit an RBI single to pull the Chinooks within one at 9-8, but Sullivan buckled down and got Aaron Machbitz (South Dakota St.) swinging on four pitches. Sullivan walked one batter in the ninth but struck out the side to allow the Mallards to head back to Mequon, Wisconsin tomorrow for the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm.
The Mallards raced out to a 4-1 lead after just one inning on the night, but the Chinooks roared back and scored one in the third and five more in the fourth. The Mallards pulled back within one in the bottom of the fourth on RBIs from Drew Weeks (North Florida) and Mike Fitzgerald (Indiana State).
There would be all zeros on the scoreboard from the fourth on until Ruchim’s blast that sent the 2,441 fans at the “Duck Pond” into a frenzy in the seventh. Sam Forkert (Marian) got the win for the Mallards and pitched four innings while allowing two runs (both earned) on six hits. Sewald was tagged with the loss and allowed four runs (two earned) on two hits in 1.1 innings of work.
Mallards starter Reilly Hovis (North Carolina) allowed five runs (all earned) on eight hits in his 3+ innings of work. He struck out three and walked one. Chinooks starter Tim Faix (Kent State) allowed five hits in the four-run first inning and settled down until the fourth. He ended up allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 3.1 innings.
Ruchim finished his monster day at the plate by going 3-for-3 with six RBIs and two runs scored. LaPrise and Joe McCarthy (Virginia) also carried the Mallards offense and finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and 2-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored, respectively.
Jared Fon (UW-Whitewater) and Machbitz paced the Chinooks offense and each finished with three hits. Fon went 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Machbitz 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
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.
