Madison, WI – July 26th, 2016. The Mallards (9-8, 32-21) had their offense working in Tuesday night’s matchup against the Lakeshore Chinooks (7-10, 22-31), scoring 15 runs on 17 hits in their 15-3 rout of Lakeshore. Eight of the nine men that stepped to the plate for Madison recorded an RBI, as Madison hit .436 on the night.
Madison jumped all over Lakeshore starter Cole Gnetz (Miami-OH) in the early parts of the contest, knocking the 6’4” right-hander out of the game in the second inning. The Mallards would score four runs and send nine men to the dish, putting Gnetz’s final stat line at four runs (two earned) in one and a third innings. Nico Hoerner (Stanford) and Nick Roark (Oral Roberts) delivered RBI singles on back-to-back pitches, ending the night for Gnetz.
The Mallards entered the home half of the fourth inning with a 5-2 advantage, with Lakeshore scoring on an error in the third and on an RBI double in the top of the fourth. A three-run fourth would be the start of Madison’s offensive explosion, as the team scored ten runs across the fourth through seventh frames. Nate Palace (Valparaiso) delivered a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning before sending a grand slam over the fence in the seventh. The two jacks were Palace’s fifth and sixth long balls of 2016, five of which have come in the last ten games.
“My rhythm and tempo has been real solid over the past few games, allowing me to see the ball real well,” said Palace. “The grand slam was my first in quite a while.”
Palace would finish the night 4-5 with two home runs and six RBIs. His multi-hit performance would join Josh Stowers (Louisville), Nelson Maldonado (Florida), Cam Comer (Virginia), Hoerner and Roark, who all collected at least two base knocks.
Renz continued to show why he has been a staple of this Madison team from day one, allowing one earned run in five innings en route to the win on Tuesday. He has only allowed more than one run in a single start this season.
“I’ve just been attacking the zone and allowing the ball to be put in play,” said Renz. “You can’t be afraid of the hitter, you just have to attack and let the defense work behind you.”
The win would improve Renz to 3-0, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.13. The loss would be charged to Cole Gnetz, moving him to 1-2 on 2016.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond Wednesday, July 27th, to take on the Lakeshore Chinooks at 7:05 pm. It will be Animart’s Bark-In-The-Park Night with a doggy chip clip giveaway presented by Madison Veterinary Specialists. Bring your pooch to the park! 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.
