Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (8-7) were defeated by the Green Bay Bullfrogs (7-7) by a final mark of 5-2 Wednesday night (June 10) at the Duck Pond.
The loss ensured both teams with a split of the two-game series at Warner Park, and also dropped Madison to fourth place in the Northwoods League’s South Division heading into Thursday night.
Grant Spranger’s (Southeastern CC) third starting appearance of the season went uncharacteristically rough, allowing three runs – two earned – across two innings of work. Bullfrogs shortstop Jack Strunc plated Caleb Ratzman to open the night’s scoring in the bottom of the second against Spranger, who shortly after ceded another run on a an error by Mallards second baseman J.J. Gould (Jacksonville). Unable to respond, Madison faced a 2-0 deficit entering the third.
The Bullfrogs added an insurance run in the top of both the third and fifth innings, the latter coming on a home run by Paul Jacobson against Mallards reliever Andrew Beckwith (Coastal Carolina). The home run increased Madison’s uphill climb to 4-0 after five frames.
But the Mallards bats awoke in the bottom of the seventh, beginning with Gould’s RBI single to score Scott Tyler (Ball State). Corbin Olmstead (North Florida) added to Madison’s brief scoring outburst with an RBI groundout to second base, scoring Mallards catcher Jean Ramirez (Illinois State). The run-producing out trimmed Green Bay’s lead to 4-2.
Green Bay responded with another run in the top of the ninth, however, courtesy of Ryan Donovan’s RBI double down the right field line. The Mallards were unable to follow in the game’s final half-frame, with Olmstead’s ground-out to first base ending any potential comeback from Madison. The Ho-Chunk Gaming ‘Big Win’ Player of the Night was Ramirez, who scored one of Madison’s runs and threw out three would-be base stealers from behind the dish.
With the loss behind them, the Mallards will turn their collective attention toward Thursday night’s home matchup with the Lakeshore Chinooks. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from the Duck Pond. 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
