Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (11-8, 39-16) earned their ninth straight win on Friday night at the Duck Pond, defeating the Rockford Rivets (4-16, 22-31) in comeback fashion. The Mallards earned an 8-7 win after a three-run eighth inning that was highlighted by a bases-clearing triple by Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) with two outs. The Mallards utilized five pitchers and racked up 12 hits as a team en route to their one-run win. Mallards leadoff man Drew Campbell (Louisville) set the pace all evening, collecting four hits and drawing a walk.
Turning Point
The Rivets took the lead in the top of the seventh, breaking a 5-5 tie when Parker Bates scored on a wild pitch after a leadoff double. The Mallards trailed by a run moving into the game’s last two innings, needing a comeback to claim a victory.
In the bottom of the eighth, Andrew Baker (Florida) reached on a free pass, Garrett Kueber(Austin Peay) singled and Drew Campbellalso walked to load the bases with two outs. Second baseman Trevor Schwecke stepped to the dish looking to tie the game or give the Mallards the lead. On the first pitch he saw, Schwecke ripped a ground ball down the left field line past a diving third baseman to clear the bases and give the Mallards an 8-6 lead. Schwecke pulled into third with the biggest knock of the night.
Mallards closer Trace Norkus (North Florida) gave up a solo shot that cut the lead to just one but quickly recovered to seal the victory. Norkus proceeded to strikeout three in a row to earn his 13thsave of the season and close the 8-7 win.
Top Mallards
- Second baseman Trevor Schwecke delivered the game-winning hit and ended the night 2-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored.
- Shortstop Garrett Kueber collected a pair of hits at this dish and knocked in a run in the victory.
- Centerfielder Drew Campbell went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and also reached on a walk. Campbell also stole a base and scored a pair of runs
- Reliever Alex Reyes pitched the seventh and eighth innings, giving up one run on one hit while earning his first victory of the season.
- Reliever Leon Hunter was effective out of the bullpen, working 2.1 innings and allowing zero runs on two hits while striking out a pair.
Next Up
The Mallards head to Rockford tomorrow looking for their tenth straight victory. The Mallards will return home on Saturday, July 21 for a matchup with the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders at 6:05 PM. Gates will open at 4:30 PM and the game will feature post-game fireworks. 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.
