After a rainout last night, the Madison Mallards (19-15) split a doubleheader with the Kenosha Kingfish (21-13) on Monday night at Simmons Field. Both seven-inning games went down to the wire, one run separating the teams in each contest. The Mallards were able to take the first game by a score of 2-1 before falling in the nightcap 4-3 to the Kingfish.
Game one featured two pitchers who exhibited control over the opposing lineups. For Madison, starter Simon Rosenblum-Larson (Harvard) looked dominant through five innings. The Ivy Leaguer gave up only three hits and one unearned run. Rosenblum-Larson dominated the Kingfish with seven strikeouts as well. The right-handed pitcher’s ERA now has dropped to a 1.11 and has still only given up four earned runs on the season. Rosenblum-Larson’s effort tonight earned him Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night honors for the second time this season. After Rosenblum-Larson, Andrew Buckley (California) and Dom Savino (Albany) slammed the door on the Kingfish in game one.
The Mallards bats didn’t wake up until the fifth inning of the first game. Kenosha starter Quinn Snarskis held Madison hitless until Zac Taylor (Illinois) ripped leadoff single in the top of the fifth to break the silence for the Mallards. Following Taylor’s single, Cole Daily poked a single into left to score Taylor. A few batters later with the bases loaded, new Mallard Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) brought home Maverick Handley (Stanford) with a sac-fly to left field. That run proved to be the go-ahead, as neither team could produce anything else at the plate.
Game two opened with a bang. Both teams slapped up two runs in the first inning, with Madison’s Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) knocking a two-run double down the left field line in the top of the first. Madison would score again in the top of the second thanks to an RBI single from Jake Snider (Louisville). The Mallards would go on to put nine hits, but were unable to add to their score after the second inning.
After Kenosha tied the game in the sixth inning, Madison had a chance to take the lead with the bases loaded and Doran Turchin (Illinois) at the plate. After getting ahead in the count 3-0, Kingfish reliever Billy McKay came back and struck out the Mallard slugger. Madison was unable to recover after the momentum swing, and in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, Kenosha’s Ben Troike knocked a ball past third basemen Cade Bunnell (Indiana) for a walk-off single.
Two new Mallards took the stage today vs Kenosha. In his first two games as a Mallard this season, Sam Armstrong played game one at third and game two at first while recording a hit and a go-ahead sac-fly on the day. Armstrong played with Madison last year 35 games and tallied seven home runs and 20 RBI. Andrew Baker (Florida) made his debut as a Mallard in the second game today. Baker was held hitless but did display impressive power to right field on a deep flyout and flashed speed by stealing two bases after being walked.
The Mallards will face Kenosha tomorrow for a Fourth of July matchup at 5:05 PM back at the Duck Pond. It will be the fourth matchup between the two teams in a series in which Madison has a 2-1 lead. The Mallards are also chasing Kenosha in the Northwoods League South Division and are currently two games behind the Kingfish. Tomorrow after the game the Mallards will host a post-game concert by the Ryan McGrath Band, followed by fireworks, presented by Pepsi. Catch all the Mallards action live on 106.7 FM and 1670 AM The ZONE.
