Published On: June 10th, 2018

Madison, Wis. –  Hunter Hisky (Southwest Baptist) delivered a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Madison Mallards (10-3) a 7-5 win over the Kenosha Kingfish (5-7) on Sunday evening at Warner Park. The game was prolonged by the work of reliever Trace Norkus (North Florida) who worked out of jams in the top of the ninth and tenth innings before Hisky gave the Mallards their eighth straight victory.

 

Madison was harmed by a five-run Kenosha fifth inning in which the Kingfish tallied five of their ten total hits and pushed across all five of their runs. However, after the Mallards tied the game in the sixth, the game stayed scoreless and needed to be decided with free baseball.

 

Turning Point

 

With the game tied at five in the ninth, Norkus escaped by punching a man out with the bases loaded to end the inning. A frame later, the hard-throwing righty induced an inning-ending fly ball to strand a man on third and keep the game tied. Then, in the bottom of the tenth, centerfielder Jayce McLean(NDSU) ripped a one-out single to set the stage for Hisky. Hisky fouled a pitch off before cranking a long home run over the right field fence to win the game.

 

Top Mallards

 

  • Catcher Hunter Hisky finished with a pair of hits, a walk, two runs scored and two RBI, both coming on his game-winning home run.
  • Mallards third baseman Tyler Plantier (Richmond) ripped two hits, extending his season-long hitting streak. Plantier currently leads the Mallards with a .412 batting average.
  • Madison designated hitter Carson Ragsdale(South Florida) had a hit and drew two walks in his first game batting for the Mallards. Ragsdale has already pitched out of the bullpen but made his first plate appearances today.
  • Mallards relievers Jonah Smith (Creighton) and Trace Norkus both got outs in crucial spots for the Mallards, pitching scoreless innings from the eighth inning through the tenth. Norkus earned his first win, adding to the four saves he has earned this season.

 

Quoteables

 

Hunter Hisky on his walk-off home run…

“I was looking for a fastball because he just beat me on the pitch before that with some heat. I got it and hit it over the fence. This is my first one, (I didn’t have one) in high school or college. This was my first walk-off.”

 

 

 Next Up

 

The Mallards hit the road to Kenosha tomorrow night and then go to Lakeshore on Tuesday evening. The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond on Wednesday to start a three game homestand. Gates open at 5:30 PM for 7:05 PM first pitch on Sunbelt Rentals Tots N’ Trucks Night. For tickets and more information visit mallardsbaseball.com.

 

 

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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR).  All league games are viewable live via theNorthwoods League portal. For more information, visitwww.mallardsbaseball.comor download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.

 

 

 

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