Madison, WI – July 9, 2016. Every aspect of the game of baseball went the Mallards (2-2, 25-15) way in tonight’s contest, as they were able to top the Wisconsin Woodchucks (2-2, 15-24) by a score of 11-1. The team saw a tremendous effort out of their pitching staff, who allowed only six hits across nine innings, as well as huge production out of their bats, as they racked up 14 hits.
Mike Reitcheck (Penn) took the hill for Madison, going five strong innings for the green and gold. He would not allow his first base runner of the game until the fourth inning, a leadoff home run to Steele Walker (Oklahoma), only one of four hits he would allow. It was the fifth time this season Reitcheck would pitch without allowing a walk, and the second time he would allow four hits or less in a contest.
“You just have to trust the defense and throw strikes,” said Reitcheck. “It’s always nice pitching with the lead, so getting a lead right from the start was great.”
Reitcheck would come into the second inning with a one-run advantage, as Madison scored an unearned run in the top of the first off a Zach Jarrett (UNC-Charlotte) RBI double. Bryce Carter (Stanford) would knock in Cam Comer (Virginia) on a single to the right side while Nico Hoerner (Stanford) would plate two more in the second on a two-out single, pushing the Mallards lead to four after two frames. The game would break open in the third, as Carter would come up for his second at-bat of the contest.
The Stanford Cardinal would launch a two-run home run, his third of the season, lifting the Mallards to a 6-0 lead. The opposite-field shot gave him RBIs number three and four on the evening, but he wasn’t done there. After a wild pitch would bring home Zach Jarrett, Carter would step to the plate with two on and one out in the fifth, holding a 7-1 lead. Carter ripped a double to the wall, bringing in Nate Palace (Valparaiso) and Cameron Frost (Washington State). The hit would be his third of the night and fourth and fifth RBIs of the game, pushing the lead to 9-1. It was the most RBIs a Mallard has recorded in a game this season.
“It was definitely my first five RBI night,” said Carter on the game. “It was a game you like to a remember, so that you can take what you did well and try and repeat it moving forward.”
Madison would tack on two more runs, one in the seventh and one in the eighth, to extend their lead to 11-1. The score would hold for the rest of the night, giving the Mallards their second win of the second half.
Reitcheck would pick up the win, his fourth of the season. He remains perfect on the 2016 campaign, lowering his ERA to 4.62 in the process. Tanner Thomas (Utah) would grab the loss, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in four innings of work. The loss was Thomas’s first decision of 2016.
The Mallards received multi-hit nights from several players in the win, including Carter, Hoerner, Jarrett, Palace and Stowers. The 11 runs scored match a season high for Madison, a feat they have accomplished two other times in 2016.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond on Tuesday, July 12th, to take on the Kenosha Kingfish at 7:05 pm. The contest will feature a Zimbrick Honda Lego giveaway. It is also Agriculture Appreciation Night, South Central Library System Night and Children’s Theatre of Madison Night. 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.
