Published On: August 11th, 2018

Mallards Ride Huge Eighth Inning to Victory

Mallards score six in the eighth to come back and defeat Fond du Lac

Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (20-15, 48-23) completed another comeback to defeat the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (18-17, 39-30) 11-7 after scoring six runs in the bottom of the eighth to erase a 7-4 deficit. Trailing by three heading into the seventh, the Mallards cut the lead to two runs before exploding in the bottom of the eighth for six runs. The huge inning propelled the Mallards to their third come from behind victory of the week. Every starter in the Mallards lineup ended the game with a hit and the Mallards tallied 15 total knocks in the victory.

 

Turning Point

After the Dock Spiders dominated the middle innings, scoring runs in four consecutive at-bats to build a 7-4 lead, the Mallards stormed back late in the game. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) ripped an RBI double to bring the Mallards within two.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Mallards sparked a huge rally. Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) led off with a single before back-to-back walks loaded the bases. David Vinsky (Northwood) then delivered a RBI single that pulled the Mallards within one and caused the sold-out Warner Park crowd to erupt. One pitch later,Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) was plunked on the wrist by a pitch, forcing in the tying run.

With the game tied and the bases loaded with nobody out, Garrett Kueber (Austin Peay) ripped a line drive through the infield to give the Mallards the lead. Vinsky then scored on a wild pitch before Drew Ober (UNC-Charlotte) blooped a two-run double down the right field line to score two and make the score 11-7. The giant offensive outburst buried the Dock Spiders and Trace Norkus (North Florida) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to cap the win.

Top Mallards

  • Third baseman Tyler Plantier (Richmond) finished the ballgame 3-for-4 with a walk and scored three runs in the Mallards win.
  • Second baseman Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) went 3-for-6 at the dish and worked a key at bat to lead off the eighth inning.
  • Designated hitter Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) went 2-for-4 and picked up a painful RBI, forcing in the tying run in the eighth when he was hit by a pitch.
  • Infielder David Vinsky picked up two hits and drew a pair of walks while also scoring two runs in the Mallards come from behind victory.
  • Reliever Leon Hunter (North Carolina A&T) earned the win in relief, pitching a pair of scoreless innings to keep the Dock Spiders off of the board in the seventh and eighth innings. Hunter is now 4-0 this summer.

 

Next Up

The Mallards head to Fond du Lac tomorrow to conclude the regular season before returning to Warner Park for round one of the 2018 Northwoods League Playoffs on Monday night at 7:05 PM. The first playoff game will feature the Wisconsin Special ticket deal for only $16. The Mallards will have to win back-to-back playoff games in order to reach the NWL Championship Series which will be played in a best-of-three format on August 15-17. 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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