The Madison Mallards (34-16, 6-8) beat the Lakeshore Chinooks (24-25, 8-6) for the sixth straight time this summer 3-0. Four Mallards pitchers combined for the five-hit shutout.
Cole O’Connor (Dartmouth) earned his second win of the season, spinning five shutout innings and striking out four. O’Connor handed the ball off to Nick Morales (San Jose State) who threw two more shutout innings and also struck out four. Leon Hunter (North Carolina A&T) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Trace Norkus (North Florida) earned his twelfth save in twelve opportunities with a scoreless ninth inning.
Turning Point
The Madison hurlers needed only one run to bring home the victory. The Mallards offense supplied that run in the top of the first inning when Jake Randa (NW Florida State) drove in Garrett Kueber (Austin Peay) with a line drive single right up the heart of the diamond. Madison infielders turned two inning ending double plays to get O’Connor out of jams in the first and the fifth innings. Madison added unearned runs in the third and fourth for the final 3-0 margin.
Top Mallards
- Jake Randa had two of the Mallards six hits, the lone RBI, and a long double into the right centerfield gap
- Trevor Schwecke (UW Milwaukee) played outstanding defense in the middle infield, robbing two Chinooks of sure hits from the short outfield surface
- Tyler Plantier (Richmond) added a hit, a stolen base, and started an inning ending double play from the hot corner
- Cole O’Connor got the big outs when he needed them, holding the Chinooks to O for 4 with runners in scoring position
Next Up
The Mallards board the bus again tomorrow for a 6:35 pm game against the Rafters in Wisconsin Rapids. On Friday night July 20, Madison will host Wisconsin Rapids at 7:05 pm for the last meeting between these two squads during the regular season. The Mallards hold a 5-1 advantage against the Rafters so far. Friday night will be Wisconsin Lottery Night with in-game entertainment presented by the Pyrotechniq Fire Troupe. Playoff tickets for the Mallards first round home game Monday August 13 are on sale at Warner Park or at madisonmallards.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 the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.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.
