The Mallards (13-4) defeated Lakeshore (5-13) 7-6 in game one of the double-header. Nick Gile (Madison College) hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth, an extra inning, to give Madison the win over the Chinooks in game two, earning the sweep at home.
Resuming the first game with the bases loaded and no outs for the Chinooks, the Mallards worked their way out of a jam and ended the inning with the tie preserved at four. The Mallards were unable to come up with any runs to respond in the bottom of the inning.
The Chinooks grabbed a 6-4 lead after a walk with the bases loaded, followed by an RBI by Trent Bauer (Western Illinois). Answering with a run off of a sac fly from Ben Anderson (Georgia), Madison went into the sixth inning trailing by one.
Exploding on offense, the Mallards began to command the game during the seventh inning. Drew Benefield (Louisville) slammed a lead off home run to left field to tie the game at six. A few pitches later, Wade Stauss (Southeastern Missouri) hit a solo home run to give the Mallards a 7-6 lead.
Nick Morales (San Jose State) and Theo Denlinger (Bradley) each gave stellar performances on the mound to shut down the Chinooks lineup for the remainder of the game. Morales earned the win and Denlinger was awarded the save.
Luke Sommerfeld (Clemson) was handed the loss after giving up back-to-back home runs.
Game two began at 6:55 p.m. and was scheduled for seven innings, but went into one extra inning before the Mallards sent the Chinooks home on a walk-off single by Gile.
The game was a pitchers dual right from the start. AJ Archambo (Oral Roberts) had another exquisite outing for the Mallards; he earned eight strikeouts through seven innings and allowed only two walks. Randon Dauman (South Carolina) was dealing on the mound for the Chinooks and dominated the Mallards lineup until the fifth inning.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning, when the walk-off by Gile marked the second walk-off win for the Mallards this season. Defeating the Chinooks 1-0, the Mallards added two more wins to their record.
Leon Davidson (North Carolina A&T) was awarded the win, his first this season. Will Klein (Eastern Illinois) was given the loss after allowing the walk-off single.
Turning Point
During the first game, the Mallards back-to-back home runs secured the lead and eventually the win.In the second game, the walk-off awarded the Mallards the sweep.
Top Players
- Nick Gile hit his first walk-off of the season and was named Co-Impact Player of the Night.
- AJ Archambo threw seven strong innings and was awarded Co-Impact Player of the Night.
- Drew Benefield (Louisville) hit the tying home run in the first game and reached first base 3 out of his 5 plate appearances.
Next Up
The Mallards continue at the Duck Pond for a two game series against in-state rivals the Wisconsin Woodchucks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m., and the evening will feature Solid Rock 94.1 JJO 90’s Night with Pete Wheeler bobblehead presented by Festival Foods. Gates open at 5:05. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards’ season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.
