Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (7-4) were defeated by the Willmar Stingers (6-4) by a final score of 4-0 Saturday night at the Duck Pond. With their third consecutive loss in the rear-view mirror, the Mallards exited their four-game Warner Park home-stand tied with Kenosha (7-4) for first place in the Northwoods League’s South Division.
The night began on a positive note for Mallards starting pitcher Dalton D’Spain (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), who punched out three Stingers batters, conceded neither a hit nor walk and faced the minimum through three innings. But Willmar’s lineup stemmed the tide in the top of the fourth inning, during which the Stingers plated three runs on one walk, one hit, one wild pitch (leading to a run scored) and two run-producing ground-ball outs.
Willmar’s three-run fourth inning was more than enough to stave off a potential comeback from the Mallards, who went a combined 3-for-31 (.097) at the dish. That didn’t stop Jonathan Quintana (Barry University) from attempting to ignite Madison’s lineup, however. Madison’s starting third baseman tripled with two outs in the bottom half of the pivotal fourth frame, an extra-base knock followed by an untimely inning-ending fly-out by Scott Tyler (Ball State).
Madison’s bullpen performed admirably under tough circumstances, allowing Willmar to plate just one run after the fourth inning. Jesse Kay (California-Berkeley) received his green-and-yellow summer debut in relief, etching one scoreless top-of-the-seventh inning to his resume. Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s College) pitched a shutout in the top of the eighth, while Mike Kaelin (Buffalo) fanned one batter and ceded no runs in the top of the ninth. Cameron Frost’s (Washington State) swinging strikeout in the bottom of the ninth ended any potential momentum for the Mallards.
With their 1-3 home-stand behind them, the Mallards will turn their attention toward the opener of a two-game road series with the Kingfish. First pitch for Sunday’s game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. from Simmons Field in Kenosha, Wis. Tune in to 100.5 FM ESPN Madison to catch all the action and follow the Mallards on Twitter @MadisonMallards for continual notes and updates.
The Mallards will return home on Tuesday, June 9 against the Green Bay Bullfrogs (6:35 p.m. first pitch). Tuesday night will feature The Human Cannonball presented by Endres Manufacturing. For tickets, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit MallardsBaseball.com for more information.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com
