Madison, Wis. (July 15) – Behind a characteristically strong pitching performance from A.J. Bogucki (North Carolina) and another multi-hit game from Jean Ramirez (Illinois State), field manager Donnie Scott and the Madison Mallards (9-6, 29-21) captured a 6-1 victory over the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (7-6, 22-23) Wednesday night at Witter Field. The win salvaged a two-game series split with Wisconsin Rapids for the Mallards, who will travel home to the Duck Pond with sole possession of second place in the South Division with a .600 winning percentage in the second half of the season.
The Mallards jumped on Rafters starting pitcher Brian Russell (College of Staten Island) early in the victory, plating a runner courtesy of Ramirez’s run-producing single to score Ro Coleman (Vanderbilt) and another via Cameron Frost’s (Washington State) RBI groundout to score Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s College). Wisconsin Rapids responded with a run of its own in the home half of the opening frame, however, as Beau Jordan (LSU) singled up the middle to score Ernie Clement (Virginia) against Bogucki, which trimmed Madison’s lead to 2-1 heading into the second inning.
After four consecutive scoreless innings ensued for both clubs, the Mallards tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the sixth, the first of which came through Jason Goldstein’s (Illinois) hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to plate Ramirez. Bryce Carter (Stanford) then followed suit with a sacrifice fly to score Frost, running the Mallards advantage to 4-1 after six. Madison’s final runs of the game were produced by Charlie Cody (Virginia), who plated two with a double in the top of the eighth. Mike Kaelin (Buffalo) logged the final two innings for the Mallards, whiffing three hitters.
The Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison ‘Big Win’ Player of the Night was Bogucki, who tossed five innings in which he allowed no earned runs on two hits, three walks and four strikeouts against a strong Wisconsin Rapids lineup. The 6-foot-3 right-hander’s outing was enough for him to tab his third winning decision of the summer, while running his second-half earned run average to 0.59 across three starts and 17 total innings of work. Overall, Bogucki now sports a 2.75 ERA, .221 opponent batting average and 27:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio over seven starts with the Mallards this season.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond tomorrow (Thursday, July 16) at 7:05 p.m. against the Lakeshore Chinooks. Thursday will be Waterpark Night with a Kalahari Resort Indoor Theme Park Pass Giveaway to the first 500 fans through the gates. There will also be a UW-Health Sports Medicine Developing Healthy Off-Speed Pitching Mechanics Clinic from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for children 12-16 years old for $40. For tickets to Thursday’s game or questions about the clinic, 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.
