Rockford, Ill. – The Madison Mallards (23-7) comeback effort in the ninth inning fell one run short in a 5-4 loss to the Rockford Rivets (16-13) on Wednesday night in Rockford. The Mallards came back from five down in the first game back in Madison earlier today, but two late eighth inning runs by the Rivets in the bottom of the eighth in the nightcap were enough for Rockford to escape with the one run victory and a split of the doubleheader. The Kalamazoo Growlers also split their doubleheader against Wisconsin Rapids, and the Mallards hold first place by two games with six to go in the first half.
Turning Point
Madison held a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning when double put the tying run on second base with no outs for the Rivets. Jonah Smith (Creighton) struck out the next two batters but a mishandled ground ball and an errant throw into centerfield allowed two unearned runs to score and provided the Rivets with the winning 5-4 margin. The Mallards put two runners on base in the top of the ninth, but the last out of the game was recorded on a bang-bang play at first base to end Madison’s four-game winning streak.
Top Mallards
· Cole O’Connor (Dartmouth) pitched six innings of two-run, five-hit ball to give the Mallards a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh inning
· Mike Aiello (UW Whitewater) clubbed a long home run over the right field fence in the fourth to give the Mallards a 1-0 lead
· David Vinsky (Northwood) blasted a two-run homer to left field, his fourth of the year. Vinsky now has 24 RBIs which is tied for third place in all of the Northwoods League
Next Up
The Mallards return home to Warner Park Thursday night for one game against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. First pitch is set for 7:05 pm. Gates open at 5:30 PM for Unicorn Night with a Mystical Maynard bobblehead giveaway sponsored by Pepsi. For tickets and more information visit mallardsbaseball.com. Make sure to catch every Mallards game on The Zone, 1670 AM and 96.7 FM.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via theNorthwoods League portal. For more information, visitwww.mallardsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
