The Madison Mallards (15-15, 34-31) came through with a crucial win over the Lakeshore Chinooks (16-13, 34-30) on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Warner Park. Madison starter Tristen Bayless (Texas A&M) made his best start of the season and the Mallards used steady offense to take down the Chinooks 9-4.
Bayless was effective on the hill for Madison as he pounded the strike zone and induced plenty of weak contact. Bayless ended up working 4.1 innings and allowed only three hits and a pair of runs while striking out four. After the strong start, Bayless has now held opposing batters to a .239 batting average this season.
The Mallards aided Bayless with run support immediately as they tallied three runs in the game’s first two innings. Cole Daily (Notre Dame) began the bottom of the first with a walk and then scored on a Tommy Bullock (UNC-Charlotte) RBI double. Bullock then crossed on an RBI groundout by Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville). Bullock had a solid night at the dish as he tallied a pair of knocks. In the bottom of the second, Cade Bunnell sent a wall-scraping home run over the left field fence to extend the Mallards lead to 3-0. Bunnell ended with a pair of hits and scored two runs for Madison.
During the middle innings, both offenses were able to scratch across runs. In the fourth, Armstrong scored for the Mallards after a leadoff double. Meanwhile, the Chinooks were able to stick around as they pushed across single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. After six and a half innings, the Mallards held a 4-3 advantage.
With the potent Lakeshore offense within striking distance, the Mallards needed more insurance. The Madison offense came through with five runs in their last three trips to the plate. In the sixth, David Vinsky (Northwood) and Andrew Baker (Florida) came through with hits and both scored runs. Vinsky crossed home on an aggressive base running move when he slid into home safely after a wild pitch skipped away from catcher Tim DalPorto.
Madison tacked on runs in the seventh and eighth as well and rode the 9-4 lead to a big victory. The Mallards bullpen was important in the late innings as they held down the Lakeshore bats. Drew Buckley (California) struck out four during his two innings of scoreless work. David Stover (Marrieta) and Riley Pawelski (Madison College) also made strong appearances out of the pen.
Tomorrow, the Mallards head to Kapco Park to wrap up the two-game set with the Chinooks. The game is set to start at 7:05 PM. The Mallards return home on Wednesday for a matchup with the Green Bay Bullfrogs. Listen to all Mallards games live by tuning into The Zone 106.7 FM or 1670 AM. For more Mallards coverage, visit mallardsbaseball.com.
