After coming up short last night, the Madison Mallards (5-5, 24-21) returned the favor to the Lakeshore Chinooks (6-4, 24-21) with a 10-0 rout at Kapco Park.
Madison hit first and hit hard. After Thomas Smart (Illinois-Chicago) and Cade Bunnell (Indiana) both singled, Brock Weimer (SIUE) homered deep to left field to give Madison an early 3-run lead. In the third inning, the bottom of the order struck again. Doran Turchin (Illinois) and David Vinsky (Northwood) both singled and Thomas Smart took a pitch to the foot to earn his way on. With the bases loaded, Bunnell lined a ball into the right-center field gap for a bases-clearing double.
With a 6-0 cushion, starter Simon Rosenblum-Larson (Harvard) cruised through five innings on the mound. Joe Duncan for Lakeshore singled in the first inning, but was then picked off by Rosenblum-Larson. The Ivy Leaguer only allowed three baserunners off one hit and two walks. Rosenblum-Larson’s off-speed pitches were fantastic in his five innings of work. Lakeshore couldn’t touch the right-hander’s slider and the sophomore from Harvard went on to strike out nine and was named Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night.
The Mallards struck again in the top of the sixth inning. This time, the top of the order worked its way on base with back-to-back singles from Cole Daily (Notre Dame) and Zac Taylor (Illinois). With the bases loaded after a Doran Turchin walk, Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) popped a ball up into right field. Lakeshore right fielder Joe Duncan seemed to track the ball, but then lost it in the sun. The ball dropped untouched in the outfield and scored three Mallards. These were perhaps the three most demoralizing runs for Lakeshore as the Chinooks watched the Madison lead to stretch to 9-0.
Madison managed a to put a man on base in every inning except the fourth. Every part of the order contributed to the offensive effort. Six Mallards recorded multi-hit efforts. The bottom three hitters in the lineup for Madison – Thomas Smart, Cade Bunnell, and Brock Weimer – combined for seven hits, a double, and a home run in tonight’s victory. Madison was perfect in the field as well, but the defense didn’t have much work to do behind dominant pitching.
Matt McCarty (Louisvile) replaced Rosenblum-Larson in the sixth inning on the mound. Despite Rosenblum-Larson’s tough act to follow, McCarty proved to be just as dominant. Through four innings, McCarty struck out four more Chinooks and did not allow a baserunner until a Joe Duncan triple in the ninth inning. The Duncan triple was the first time that Lakeshore advanced a runner past second base. McCarty and Rosenblum-Larson combined to strike out 12 and allow only two hits.
The Mallards will head to Kenosha tomorrow for a 6:35 PM CST date with the Kenosha Kingfish (4-4, 26-17). This will be the Mallards second series against the Kingfish. The Mallards split the first series with Kenosha 2-2. Tune in live on 106.7 FM and 1670 AM The ZONE to catch all the action.
