Madison, WI – July 6, 2016. The Mallards (0-1, 23-14) lost their highest scoring matchup of the season thus far, falling to the Battle Creek Bombers (1-0, 19-18) by a score of 15-11. The two clubs would combine for 26 runs on 29 hits, playing in a game that took approximately four hours to complete.
The scoring would come early and often in this battle, with Madison posting a four-run first inning to jump out to the early lead. The outburst was made possible by a Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) three-run jack. The blast seemed like a routine fly ball when it left the bat, but the humidity helped the ball carry out to the left field suites.
Battle Creek did their part to join in on the hit parade, posting six runs in the top of the second. Nine men would come to the plate in the frame, but it would only be the beginning of the high-scoring affair. The lead would change three more times within the next nine outs alone, with the score sitting at a 9-9 tie at the conclusion of the third.
After combining for 18 runs in the first three innings, the Mallards and Bombers would trades zeros in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. With Alex Smith (North Florida) pitching in the seventh, Battle Creek scored three runs on four hits, including an RBI double by Christian Helsel (Penn State). The lead would stand at three until the bottom half, when a Nico Hoerner (Stanford) two-out RBI drew the Mallards within two runs.
Following suit from the earlier innings, the Bombers and Mallards would trade runs in the eighth and ninth innings as well, with the Mallards eventually falling by the 15-11 final score. The 15 runs were the most the Mallards have allowed this season and the 11 runs were tied for the most the team has scored in a single game in 2016.
Alex Smith would take the loss in the contest, allowing three runs on three hits in his second of two innings pitched. He was the fourth of five pitchers that manager Donnie Scott used in the contest after Mike Byrne (Florida) left his first start of the season in the third inning.
Krystien Johnson-Battilana (Davenport) earned the win, striking out two and allowing no earned runs in 2.2 frames. The Bombers used their fair share of pitchers as well, using four arms after starter Malcolm Grady (Wabash Valley CC) was pulled after giving up seven runs in 1.1 innings.
The Mallards received a few multi-hit performances out of their lineup tonight, including Sam Armstrong, Nico Hoerner, Josh Stowers (Louisville) and Cam Comer (Virginia), who launched his second home run of the season in the third inning. Armstrong tallied three RBIs off of his long ball, also crossing the plate twice and drawing two walks.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond tomorrow, July 7th to take on the Battle Creek Bombers at 7:05 pm. Wear your green to the ballpark, as it is The Great Dane Summertime St. Patty’s Day featuring The Kissers. There will also be a Quench Gum giveaway. 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.
