Madison, WI –  The Madison Mallards (2-0) earned their second straight win on Wednesday night at the Duck Pond, defeating the Kokomo Jackrabbits (0-2) 7-2,  in a dominant fashion. The Mallards claimed the win after exploding on offense in the third, starting with E.J. Ranel (Lenoir-Rhyne). Ranel hit a hard line drive to left field to earn a double, followed by a single from Ben Anderson (Georgia) to put Ranel in scoring position. Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) came in clutch with an RBI single, along with a ground out by Austin Blazevic (Southeastern Missouri) to score the runner and bring the Mallards up 4-0.

The Jackrabbits answered with two runs in the top of the fifth, but a two-run home run from Bigbie in the bottom half kept the Mallards ahead 6-2.  

Through the last four innings the Mallards pitchers shut down the Jackrabbits lineup. Trevor Marreel (Washburn U) earned three strikeouts over 2.1 innings, Leon Davidson (NC A&T) threw a perfect eighth and Theo Denlinger (Bradley) capped off the night with back-to-back strikeouts.

Turning Point

Marreel entered during the fifth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. He struck out Ethan Gallagher (UMBC) to escape the jam and preserve the lead going into the sixth. Three batters later, Bigbie hit a two-run bomb.

Top Mallards

•   Bigbie hammered the ball over the fence for a two run home run in the sixth.  
•     Guidatis earned eight strikeouts through 4.2 innings.
•   Ranel earned a double to heat up the fifth and finished 3-4, with an RBI and scored two   runs.

Next Up

The Mallards will return home once again tomorrow night, May 30,  for a matchup with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters at 6:05 PM. Gates will open at 5:05 PM and the game will feature ZOOperstars! presented by TDS. For tickets and more information visit mallardsbaseball.com. Make sure to catch every Mallards game on The Zone, 1670 AM and 96.7 FM.