Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (11-8, 30-24) fell to the Rockford Rivets (13-6, 30-23) in a four-hour marathon ballgame at Warner Park on Wednesday night. The Mallards constantly fought back in the ballgame, but the Rivet offense kept the pedal to the metal and scored 15 runs on 13 hits.
With the Mallards trailing 3-0, Mallards first baseman David Vinsky (Northwood University) cranked a solo shot in the bottom of the second to open the scoring for the Mallards. Vinsky had a pair of hits in the ballgame and scored twice.
Overall, the Madison offense kept pounding away and was able to continuously creep back into the ballgame. The Mallards scored in five separate innings and tallied a total of 12 hits. Thomas Smart (Oakton) and Doran Turchin (Illinois) both ended the evening with three hits.
In the bottom of the fourth with the Mallards trailing 6-1, the Mallards looked as though they may regain the lead. Smart, Cade Bunnell (Madison College) and Brock Weimer (SIUE) each had consecutive RBI singles and four Mallards crossed in the frame to make the score 6-5. Weimer came through again in the seventh by knocking in a pair on an RBI single. Weimer ended the night 2-for-4 with three RBI and a hit by pitch.
Despite the Mallards resilient offensive approach, the Rivet offense was too much as they were able to continue to put runs on the board to hold off Madison. Rockford tallied three runs in three consecutive innings to stretch the advantage to 15-6 after seven and a half innings. Rockford was led by Brian Klein who had three hits and scored a pair of runs and knocked in one. Additionally, Logan Michaels and Anthony Forte both tallied four RBI.
Even though the Mallards pushed across 11 runs, the Madison pitching staff and defense made it difficult for the Mallards to come out on top. The Rivets drew 12 walks and the Mallards defense committed six errors in the 15-11 loss. The Mallards will look to get back to playing clean baseball as they head to Wisconsin Rapids tomorrow.
The Mallards and Rafters are set for a 7:05 PM matchup at Witter Field. The Mallards will return to Warner Park on Friday to play a pair of seven inning games against the Rafters, as the teams’ makeup a postponed game from July 21st. Game one will begin at 5:05 PM with game two beginning 30 minutes after. Gates will open at 4:00 PM. In-game entertainment will be provided by Rally, presented by Endres Manufacturing. Listen to all Mallards games live by tuning into The Zone 106.7 FM or 1670 AM. For more Mallards coverage, visit mallardsbaseball.com.
