Published On: August 8th, 2018

Mallards with Another Walk-Off

Mallards come back to beat the Growlers in extras to complete series sweep

Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (19-13, 47-21) came back to win in walk-off fashion for the second game in a row, defeating the Kalamazoo Growlers (16-17, 40-25) on a game-winning single by Garrett Kueber (Austin Peay) on Wednesday night at Warner Park. After the Growlers offense dominated the majority of the ballgame, the Mallards entered the ninth inning trailing 4-3 before rallying to complete the comeback and sweep the Growlers in thriller.

 

Turning Point

With the Mallards trailing 4-2 in the seventh inning, the Madison offense began chipping into the deficit. Garrett Kueber knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly after three consecutive walks to pull the Mallards within a run. Mallards reliever Alex Reyes (New Mexico State) held the Growlers scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings to set the stage for late-inning heroics in the bottom of the ninth.

Mallards outfielder Andrew Baker (Florida) led the bottom of the ninth off with a single, representing the game’s tying run. Jake Randa (Northwest Florida State) entered as a pinch hitter and chopped a slow grounder in front of the plate that was thrown over the Growlers first baseman, allowing Randa to reach second and Baker to pull into third with nobody out. After a Cam Cratic (Madison College) RBI groundout that tied the game, Kueber sent a game-winning walk-off single into left field. Randa crossed the plate, giving the Mallards their second-straight walk-off victory over the Growlers.

Top Mallards

  • Garrett Kueber came up with the big knocks in the Mallards gut-wrenching win, pulling the Mallards within one with a sac fly and later winning the game with a single. Kueber finished the game 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
  • Designated hitter Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) had a great night offensively, going 3-for-4 at the plate while knocking in a run on a double in the first inning.
  • Cam Cratic displayed a strong approach in the batter’s box, drawing two walks and finishing the evening 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
  • Alex Reyes earned the victory in relief for the Mallards, working 1.2 innings and allowing only one hit while striking out a pair. Reyes’s strong showing kept the Mallards within striking distance as the game reached it’s conclusion.

Next Up

The Mallards travel to Green Bay to face the Bullfrogs tomorrow at xx before returning to the Duck Pond on Friday night to finish the two-game set at 7:05 PM. Friday’s game will feature Milwaukee Bucks Night. 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.

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