Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (1-4, 20-20) fell to the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (3-2, 19-22), 8-3, at Warner Park on Sunday evening. The Mallards hung within striking distance through seven innings before the Dock Spiders put up four runs in the top of the eighth.
The Mallards got on the board right away in the first on a sacrifice fly by Doran Turchin (Illinois). Zac Taylor (Illinois) attempted to score from second on the sac fly and was thrown out at the plate after a strong relay from the Dock Spiders. The putout at home minimized the chance for a big Mallards inning.
Fond du Lac was able to add three runs in the top of the second and another in the fifth to gain a 4-1 advantage. However, the Mallards offense put up a fight in the middle innings to battle back. Cole Daily (Notre Dame) tallied an RBI on a groundout in the fifth and Cal Aldridge (UW-Whitewater), a new Mallard, came through with a big RBI single in the sixth to cut the deficit to one. Trailing 4-3, the Mallards seemed ready to make a late push to take the lead.
However, Fond du Lac starter Zach Kesterson was able to stifle the Madison bats as he only allowed those three runs over 6.2 innings of work. Kesterson did a great job of working around Mallards hits as he wiggled out of multiple Mallards scoring opportunities. Overall, Madison stranded ten runners on base in the ballgame.
The Dock Spiders offense then exploded in the top of the eighth thanks to an Eric Gigenbach three-run bomb. Fond du Lac pushed across four in the frame to make the score 8-3. The Mallards fought to get a rally going in the bottom of the ninth as Zac Taylor ripped a double down the left field line. Taylor was a bright spot offensively for the Mallards as he tallied three hits, two being doubles. The Mallards were unable to knock Taylor in and the Dock Spiders sealed the 8-3 win.
The Mallards hit the road tomorrow to finish the two-game set with Fond du Lac. The game is set to get underway at 6:35 PM at Marian-HB field. The Mallards will return home on Thursday, July 13th for a matchup with the Lakeshore Chinooks. Listen to all Mallards games live by tuning into The Zone 106.7 FM or 1670 AM. For more Mallards coverage, visit mallardsbaseball.com.
