The Madison Mallards (15-13) used a steady barrage of offense to dominate the Kalamazoo Growlers (8-20) in a 13-5 win on Tuesday night at Warner Park. After a chaotic first four innings, the Mallards hung a seven spot in the sixth inning to pull away.
Madison fell behind by a run in the top of the first and then responded with a patient approach at the dish. Jake Snider (Louisville), Doran Turchin (Illinois), and Angel Camacho (Jacksonville) drew consecutive walks in the bottom half of the inning before Jeffery Mitchell Jr. (California) came through with a clutch, bases clearing double to give the Mallards a 3-1 lead. The patient approach would continue to be the theme of the early innings for Mallards batters as they drew ten walks in the game’s first six innings.
Mallards starter Matt Horkey (UNC-Charlotte) worked five innings, but could only manage one clean inning. Growlers batters consistently put pressure on Horkey, however the Madison lefty was able to limit damage throughout his outing. After the Mallards went up 3-1, Horkey allowed one run in the second, but stranded a Growler on third with an inning ending strikeout. The Mallards responded with a pair of runs to make the score 5-2. The Growlers were able to continue to claw back and knotted the game at five in the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Madison pulled ahead on a Turchin sac fly after Jalen Harrison (Virginia) doubled to lead off the inning. Two innings later, the Madison offense exploded for seven runs, highlighted by RBI doubles from Turchin and Cade Bunnell (Madison College), and Brock Weimer (SIUE). The huge inning was made possible by the Mallards plate discipline as they drew three walks in the frame.
The Mallards bullpen was lights out tonight and helped Madison seal the game. Sam Cottingham-Beard (Western Illinois) tossed scoreless sixth, Mitch Vogrin (Illinois State) went two scoreless, and Tiegen Jones (Fresno State) worked a scoreless ninth to finish off the Growlers, 13-5.
The Mallards host the Growlers again tomorrow for the series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM at Warner Park and gates are set to open at 5:30 PM. Listen to all Mallards games live by tuning into The Zone 106.7 FM or 1670 AM. For more Mallards coverage, visit mallardsbaseball.com.
