Rockford, IL – June 29, 2016. In game one of their first doubleheader of 2016, the Mallards (18-11) fell to the Rockford Rivets (14-14) by a score of 7-3 this morning. After getting a solid first start by Luke Shilling (Illinois), the Mallards weren’t able to overcome the Rivets middle-inning rally, as Rockford scored five runs between the 5th and 6th innings. Kevin Berge (St. John Fisher College) was a bright spot out of the bullpen, allowing only one hit in two innings of work.
Nick Roark (Oral Roberts) turned in a good performance at the plate, going 2-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Roark is hitting .353 over his last five games.
Game two of the doubleheader will be played at the Duck Pond, with manager Donnie Scott handing the ball to Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater). The right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.93 ERA. He’s struck out nine in 16 innings of work.
Anthony Dahl (Arkansas) will be making his first start of 2016 for the Rivets, after appearing in seven contests throughout the season. Dahl has thrown 21 complete innings, striking out 24 with a 1.71 ERA. He’s 1-0 out of the bullpen.
The loss this morning snapped a six game streak in which the Mallards had scored at least five runs in the contest. They’ll look to get more superb hitting performances out of Roark, Cameron Frost (Washington State) and Zach Jarrett (UNC-Charlotte), who are all hitting over .350 in their last five games.
Tonight’s game against the Rockford Rivets is set for 7:05 pm at the Duck Pond at Warner Park. The theme for the game will be 80’s Night, with a tribute to Prince. It will also be Mullet Night at Warner Park, where fans can earn one dollar off of a hot dog for every inch of their authentic mullet. Do the math and we’ll pay you to eat a hot dog! 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, 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 portal. For more information, visit www.mallardsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
