Madison, Wis. –  The Madison Mallards (1-7, 29-14) lost an 8-7 contest against the Kenosha Kingfish (7-1, 19-22) on Wednesday night at Warner Park. Kenosha was able to tally 16 hits and add insurance in the late innings to hold off the Mallards. Madison got out to an early lead but a Kenosha grand slam in the third inning propelled the Kingfish into the lead. Madison had an opportunity to tie the ballgame in the bottom of the ninth but Kenosha closer Josh Serio stranded a runner on second to end the game.

 

Turning Point

Madison reliever Trace Norkus was called upon earlier than normal, entering the game in the seventh inning.  Norkus inherited a bases loaded and nobody out situation with the game tied at six. Despite walking the first man he faced, Norkus picked up a pair of strikeouts and induced a pop out to strand the bases loaded and hold the Kenosha advantage to one.

 

In the top of the eighth, Norkus allowed a pair of hits to start the inning but then struck out three straight to end the threat. Overall, Norkus picked up five strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work and kept the Mallards within striking distance.

 

However, the Kingfish were able to add an insurance run with a solo shot in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Mallards slugger Jake Randa led off with a solo shot to bring the Mallards back to within one, making the score 8-7. Tyler Plantier then singled and advanced on a wild pitch to put the tying run on second with nobody out. Kenosha closer Josh Serio then took matters into his own hands and struck out two before forcing Max Hewitt to fly out to seal the one-run Kenosha victory.

Top Mallards

• Reliever Trace Norkus (North Florida) kept the Mallards in the ballgame with five strikeouts over 2.0 innings that all came with runners in scoring position.
• First baseman Jake Randa (NW Florida State) had a pair of hits including a ninth inning home run
• Second baseman Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) collected a hit and stretched his hitting streak to 11 games. Schwecke knocked in a pair of runs on a two-run home run in the fourth inning.

 

Next Up

The Mallards hit the road for Lakeshore tomorrow and will take on the Chinooks at 6:35 PM at Kapco Park. The Mallards will return home on Friday night for the beginning of a three-game homestand. The Mallards take on Lakeshore at 7:05 PM on Friday and gates will open at 5:30 PM. The game features a celebration for 25 years of The Sandlot, presented by the Payroll Company. 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.