Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (3-5) fell to the Kalamazoo Growlers (4-4), 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon at Homer Stryker Field. Despite the loss, Madison starter Simon Rosenblum-Larson (Harvard) dominated Growler batters as he tossed seven scoreless innings, struck out seven, allowed just five hits, and earned a no-decision.
Early on, Rosenblum-Larson relied on a pair of double plays to work out of trouble. In the bottom of the first, with Growlers on first and third and only one out, Rosenblum-Larson snagged a soft line drive and fired to first to complete the inning-ending double play. Two innings later, Rosenblum-Larson induced a 4-6-3 double play after allowing a one-out single.
Rosenblum-Larson’s strong outing was his second impressive start of the year. He has now tossed 12.2 innings, struck out 16, and has allowed just one run.
Right fielder Jeffery Mitchell Jr. (California) put the Mallards on the board in the top of the second on a leadoff home run, his first with the Mallards. With the long ball, the Mallards have now tallied six home runs this season, good for second place in the Northwoods League. In the top of the fourth, Madison manufactured a run after Doran Turchin (Illinois) reached base on a walk and Mitchell Jr. was hit by a pitch. Brady Pfaadt (Bellarmine) then moved the runners over on a sacrifice bunt and Thomas Smart (Oakton) knocked in Turchin on an RBI groundout.
Will Anderson (Northern Illinois) relieved Rosenblum-Larson in the bottom of the eighth and couldn’t make it through the inning as the Kalamazoo bats caught fire. Jeff Riedel crushed a game-tying two-run shot and Nick Hutchins gave Kalamazoo the lead later in the inning with a two-out RBI double. Kalamazoo would go on to win 3-2.
After finishing the season’s first road trip 1-2, the Mallards will return to the Duck Pond on Wednesday, June 7th to face the Rockford Rivets. The Mallards will host a food drive for Willy St. Co-Op Night. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM at Warner Park. Gates are scheduled to open at 5:00 PM.
