Madison, WI – July 31, 2016. Thanks to a six-run explosion in the very first inning, Madison (12-10, 35-23) was able to defeat the Green bay Bullfrogs (12-10, 27-31) by a score of 8-5. The win was Madison’s third in the past three days versus the Bullfrogs, giving them a 6-2 advantage in the season series this summer.
The Mallards jumped all over Bullfrog starter Jacob Padilla (Dubuque) out of the gun, knocking him out of the contest after recording only two outs. A two-RBI triple from the red-hot Nate Palace (Valparaiso) would open up the scoring, giving Palace his 11th RBI in the past ten games. The Madison lead would stand at four after a pair of RBI singles, setting the stage for a Jesse Medrano (Fresno State) two-RBI single. The six runs scored in the opening frame were the most the Mallards have scored in a first inning this summer.
Green Bay slowly trimmed the six-run lead with a couple of runs in the middle innings, scoring two runs off of Madison starter Alex Lyons (Purdue) thanks to an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Lyons would hand the ball over to his bullpen in the fifth inning, and Green bay took advantage of the substitution. Chris Botsoe (Louisville) hit a three-run blast to cut the Mallard lead to just one after five complete innings, his first home run of the year.
After trading a few scoreless marks, Madison was able to tack on some insurance in the eighth on a Josh Stowers (Louisville) two-run long ball. The bomb was Stowers second of the summer and added to Madison’s already impressive offensive performance.
“Hitting is contagious, so when you see everyone starting to hit well you feel like you can do the same,” said Stowers on the 13-hit night. “You just gain more confidence as the hits keep coming.”
Madison’s 8-5 advantage after the Stowers dinger gave Madison a lead they would never look back on, as the score would go final in nine frames. The win gives the Mallards their first three-game win streak of the second half.
After pitching two innings of scoreless baseball, Luke Shilling (Illinois) earned the win. Green Bay starter Jacob Padilla took the loss, failing to make it out of the first inning in his first appearance of the season. He finished with six runs on six hits in 2/3 of an inning.
Alex Lyons took the no-decision in his first start of 2016. Lyons was able to reflect on the atmosphere in his first start of the season.
“The game was a lot of fun, and that’s definitely the most people I’ve ever pitched in front of,” said the right-hander. “I just wanted to go out there and give my team a chance to win.”
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond Monday, August 1st, to take on the Rockford Rivets at 11:35 am. The game will feature a Kalahari Resort Indoor Theme Park Pass giveaway and Team poster 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.
