In the first game of a doubleheader, the Madison Mallards (20-8) comfortably defeated the Green Bay Booyah 13-4. Every single Mallard reached safely at least once and eight of the nine batters scored at least one run.

Green Bay took an early 1-0 lead when Jacob Buchberger (Davenport) drilled a solo home run to left.

However, the Mallards quickly responded and scored 12 unanswered runs. In the third, Logan Michaels (Virginia) hit an RBI double to tie the game 1-1. Later, with the bases loaded, Andre Nnebe (Santa Clara) smoked a triple to centerfield to clear the bags and open a 4-1 advantage.

Madison tacked on six more runs in the fourth inning to create a 10-1 cushion. The bases were loaded once again and with two out, Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) blasted a grand slam over the right-field wall for his sixth home run of the summer. Three batters later, Nick Gile (Madison College) drove home two runs with a double off the wall in right.

Gile added an RBI single up the middle in the sixth inning followed by an RBI from Timo Schau (Southern Wesleyan) which pushed the Mallards lead to 12-1.

The Booyah scratched across three runs in the sixth on a home run from Joe Mason (Mount Olive) to slim the gap to 12-4.

Then, in the eighth inning, Madison’s Drew Benefield (Louisville) launched his league-leading ninth home run of the season deep to right and made it a 13-4 game.

Mallard starting pitcher Quinn Gudaitis (Illinois Wesleyan) (4-1) picked up the win after 5.2 innings on the mound, striking out three. Tommy Miller (Siena University) took the loss for Green Bay.

Turning Point

In the bottom of the second inning, Green Bay led 1-0 and loaded the bases with nobody out, poised to increase its lead. Then, Gudaitis picked up a strikeout and an inning-ending double play to get out of the frame unscathed. The Mallards’ offense erupted after that.

Top Mallards

• Nnebe led the Mallards with four hits, finishing 4-for-5 with three RBI, two doubles and a triple.
• Benefield smacked another homer in part of a 3-for-5 effort, also scoring four of Madison’s 13 runs.
• Bigbie led the team with four RBI at the plate thanks to a grand slam. He also notched a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-6.
• Trevor Marreel (Washburn) secured the win for the Mallards with two perfect innings on the mound to close the game. Marreel struck out two batters.

Next Up

The Mallards and Booyah finish their doubleheader at Capital Credit Union Park with the nightcap on Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards’ season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.

The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 26-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.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.