Madison, WI – June 17, 2016. Donnie Scott rolled out a stellar lineup on Friday with Nico Hoerner (Stanford) and Cam Comer (Virginia) hitting in the one and two spots. The two would combine for five hits, six runs and four RBIs, leading the Mallards to a 10-2 win over Battle Creek.
The Mallards got the ball rolling early, as Cameron Frost (Washington State) was able to drive in a run with two outs in the first. Battle Creek got a run back on a Frank German (North Florida) wild pitch, but the Madison offense was only getting started. A Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) three-run dinger with two outs in the second gave the Mallards a 5-1 lead. He worked the count to 3-2, fouled off a couple of pitches, and then unloaded.
“I knew he was going to throw me something I could hit,” said Armstrong. “I just took advantage of it.”
With his home run, Armstrong extended his streak of reaching base safely, as he has continued to do so in every game he’s played in this season. The long ball was part of a four-run second inning for the Mallards that included a Matt Vierling (Notre Dame) RBI single.
In total, Madison collected 13 hits in the ballgame, with all but one Mallard collecting a hit. Comer posted a 3-4 evening with Hoerner chipping in a 2-5 night of his own, extending his streak of multi-hit games to four.
“The team was able to build off of each other’s at-bats tonight,” said Comer. “Once one guy gets a hit, the train just starts moving.”
Frank German (North Florida) earned his first win in a Mallards uniform, going five solid innings. He gave up three hits and three walks, striking out four and allowing a run en route to the win. He pitched right into the hands of a red-hot defense.
“It’s always better to pitch with a lead, especially a big one,” said German. “I just pitched for contact, and the defense was great. They definitely took away some base hits out there.”
Chi-Ping Wu (National Taiwan) took the loss tonight, allowing three runs in just 1.2 innings. He struggled to find the zone, walking three and recording no strikeouts in his short outing.
The Mallards recorded a clean sheet for their third straight game, giving German and the bullpen a solid line of defense. The clean mark moves the Mallards to 5-0 when they don’t record an error.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond tomorrow, June 18th, to take on the Green Bay Bullfrogs at 6:35 pm. Madison will wear patriotic jerseys, as it is U.S. Bank Military Appreciation Night. The jerseys will be auctioned off following the game to benefit Badger Honor Fight. There will also be a Zimbrick Honda FREE Kids Clinic from 10 am to 12 pm. The game will also feature postgame fireworks, courtesy of LSM. 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.
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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 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, more than 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
