Playing their fourth road game in the season's first five games, the Mallards continued their blistering offensive pace in their 11-1 victory over the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters during opening week, presented by Edvest. The Mallards scored 10 runs in the first 3 innings, continuing their trend of grabbing early commanding leads and never looking back.
Matt Vierling (Notre Dame) plated the first run of the game for the Mallards with an RBI single to score Cameron Frost (Washington State). With two runners aboard, Lucas Halstead (Pacific) launched his second home run in as many nights, to give the Mallards a 4-0 lead before the Rafters even had a chance to swing the bats.
Leading 4-0 heading into the third, the Mallards had their highest scoring inning of the season when they scored six times, including back-to-back home runs. Nate Palace (Valparaiso) followed a Halstead lead-off walk with a 2-run home run to give the Mallards a 6-0 lead. Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) followed the Palace home run with a solo shot of his own, as the Mallards went back-to-back for the first time this season. Later in the inning, Vierling doubled with the bases loaded to tally his second and third RBIs of the night and helped push the Mallards lead to ten.
Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater) made his first start on the mound for the Mallards, and was in control before a rain delay ended his night after just two innings. He allowed only one Rafter to reach, a walk given up seconds before the game was called as the tarp was pulled onto the field.
After a brief rain delay, the Mallards turned it over to their bullpen to finish the night, as six different Mallards pitchers came to the mound. In total, the Mallards allowed just one run on five hits as both teams had trouble scoring after the tarp was pulled.
“Right now our entire pitching staff is throwing well. It’s a luxury as a coach to have a group of guys that I can count on to step up when their number is called,” said Mallards pitching coach, Matt O’Brien.
The Mallards tallied another run in the 9th inning when Brendan McClary (Columbia Basin) came in to score on Vierling’s fourth RBI of the night, a sacrifice fly to right field. With McClary’s run, the Mallards had all nine players in their lineup record a run for the first time this season. The Mallards also set a season high for runs scored in a game, breaking the previous record of ten against Battle Creek on June 1st.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond on Monday, June 6th to take on the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. The game will feature a Chet’s Car Care magnet schedule giveaway. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board will also sponsor Dairy Night, with dairy themed promotions and giveaways. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting MallardsBaseball.com, calling the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277, or stopping in the ticket office at 2920 N Sherman Ave.
###
The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, 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, 150 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com
Edvest is Wisconsin’s 529 College Savings Plan designed to help families save for higher education expenses. It takes just $25 to start an Edvest college savings plan, and account owners can choose from more than 22 investment portfolios while enjoying one of the lowest cost 529 plans in the U.S. along with in-state tax advantages for Wisconsin residents.
SavingforCollege.com recently ranked Edvest as one of the Top 15 in 529 Performance, the ninth Lowest Cost 529 plans, as well as awarded the program a 5-Cap Rating, which indicates that a 529 plan offers outstanding flexibility, attractive investments and additional economic benefits. Find out more at www.edvest.com
