In a muggy night at Joannes Stadium, the Madison Mallards (4-4, 23-20) pulled out their third win in four games, holding on for 7-5 victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs (1-7, 13-30). The Mallards swept the Bullfrogs for the first time this season and are now at .500 in the second half of the season.
The Mallards jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Green Bay starter Jared Tobey struggled to throw strikes and ended up walking three Mallards and hitting a batter. With two runners on, David Vinsky (Northwood) doubled to left field to bring in a run. A couple batters later, Maverick Handley (Stanford) drew a walk with the bases loaded to force in a run. By the end of the game, the Mallards drew 10 walks in all and the Green Bay pitching staff walked in two runs.
After Madison’s two-run first inning, Green Bay responded with a three-run home run from Ben Hart in the second. The Bullfrog hitters were able to work three consecutive full counts to pump up Mallards starter Heath Renz’s (UW-Whitewater) pitch count leading up to the Hart home run. Renz worked close to the strikezone all night but was unable to work out of innings quickly. The starter made it through four innings and allowed four earned runs on four walks and three strikeouts.
Down 4-2, the Mallards waited until the fifth inning to strike again. Lead off singles from Cole Daily (Notre Dame) and Zac Taylor (Illinois), as well as a walk drawn by Doran Turchin (Illinois) loaded the bases for the Madison clean-up man Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) with no outs. With the Green Bay starter Jared Tobey still on the mound, Mitchell Jr. poked an infield single over the pitcher’s head to bring in the first run of the inning. David Vinsky and Cade Bunnell (Madison) knocked in two more runs while Maverick Handley drew another walk with the bases loaded to bring home another Mallard. After the dust settled in the fifth, Madison had a 6-4 lead.
Both teams would go on to score one more run each, Madison’s run coming from a passed ball that scored Daily from third base in the eighth inning.
After Renz threw the first four, Ryan Schmitt (Illinois), Sam Cottingham-Beard (Western Illinois), and Andrew Baker (Flordia) teamed up out of the bullpen to finish off the Bullfrogs. Schmitt allowed one run in the sixth inning, but that was all the damage Green Bay could do against the Mallard pen. In the seventh inning with a runner in scoring position and only one out, Cottingham-Beard struck out two Bullfrogs in the heart of the order to work out of a jam.
Offensively, Vinsky and Turchin both recorded doubles. Zac Taylor looked strong at the plate again as he launched three hard-hit balls into left, two of which found their way into the mitt of Green Bay left-fielder Mikey Filia. Maverick Handley recorded a 1-2 effort with three walks and two RBI. Handley has now reached base safely in 11 straight games.
The Mallards are in action tomorrow back at the Duck Pond for a 7:05 PM CST date with the Lakeshore Chinooks (5-3, 23-20). The game will feature in-game entertainment by Mr. Intermission. For tickets, visit MallardsBaseball.com or catch all the action live on 106.7 FM and 1670 AM The ZONE.
