Madison, Wis. (July 6) – Despite Scott Tyler’s (Ball State) pair of doubles and trio of runs batted in and four scoreless innings of bullpen work from Nick Gruener (Harvard), field manager Donnie Scott and the Madison Mallards (3-2, 23-17) were defeated by the Alexandria Blue Anchors (4-2, 16-25) by a final score of 5-4 Monday night at Knute Nelson Stadium.
The loss was the second in as many days for the Mallards, who now have two games remaining in their five-game road-trip.
Madison struck early on Monday night courtesy of Tyler’s single to score Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s College) in the top of the first. Andrew Beckwith (Coastal Carolina) then proceeded to toss a scoreless bottom-of-the-first against the Blue Anchors lineup, though he ran into trouble in the home half of the second when Alexandria erupted for a quartet of runs against him to claim a 4-1 advantage after two full frames. Beckwith exited the contest after two innings of work.
The Mallards responded with a pair of runs in the road half of the third, both of which were provided by Tyler’s double to trim Alexandria’s lead to 4-3. Steve Sada’s RBI single in the bottom of the fourth reestablished the Blue Anchors’ two-run advantage, after which the Mallards mustered up one run from the fifth inning on. Tony Butler (Madison College) reached base in the top of the ninth, though Ro Coleman’s (Vanderbilt) ground-out ended any hopes of a comeback.
With the loss behind them, the Mallards will turn their collective attention toward Tuesday’s pivotal series opener with the Willmar Stingers (4-1, 27-12). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Bill Taunton Stadium. Follow the Mallards on Twitter at @MadisonMallards for updates or tune in to 100.5 FM ESPN Madison for live play-by-play coverage.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond on Thursday, July 9 at 7:05 p.m. against the Kenosha Kingfish. Thursday’s game will feature a Motorcycle Maynard Bobblehead Giveaway presented by WKOW-TV at the front gates of the stadium while supplies last and a pre-game skydiving and tandem skydive giveaway presented by Great Lakes Skydiving. For tickets, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit www.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.
