The Madison Mallards (22-10) cruised past the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 11-3 on Friday at Herr-Baker Field. The Mallards were patient offensively, drawing seven walks to go along with nine hits to ease past their division rivals and clinch a series split.
The Mallards kick started their offense early with a pair of runs in the first inning. With two runners on, Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) lined an RBI single through the infield to open the scoring. A few pitches later, Drew Benefield (Louisville) bounced a ball up the middle that scored another run to give the Mallards a 2-0 edge.
Fond du Lac responded in the second inning with two runs of its own. Charlie Maxwell (Northwestern) roped an RBI double before an RBI groundout from Sam Novitzke (Oregon) tied the game 2-2.
After a few quiet innings, Madison pushed across some more runs in the fifth. EJ Ranel (Lenoir-Rhyne) knocked an RBI single up the middle to score the first run. Ben Anderson (Georgia) notched his 14th RBI of the summer with a sacrifice fly to put the Mallards ahead 4-2.
The Dock Spider offense bounced back for a run in the sixth inning and cut the Mallard lead to 4-3 after an RBI groundout from Zach Prajzner (Notre Dame).
Madison erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning to create a comfortable 11-3 cushion. After a walk and a single, Benefield drilled an RBI double to open the flood gates. After a few defensive miscues led to two runs, Timo Schau (Southern Wesleyan) smacked a two-RBI single. Later in the frame, Anderson and Bigbie knocked back-to-back RBI singles to cap the scoring for the night.
Ben Specht (Florida) turned in a quality start for the Mallards and earned his first win of the season after five strong innings on the mound, giving up just two runs and striking out four Dock Spiders. Jon Yound (Indiana Wesleyan) was given the loss after allowing four runs to start the game.
Turning Point
With a one-run lead in the eighth inning, the Mallards’ offense sent 13 batters to the plate and strung together five hits along with drawing five walks to score seven runs. The offensive outburst propelled Madison to an 11-3 lead which held as the final score.
Top Mallards
- Bigbie led the Mallards offensively with a three-hit night, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. He now has a team-high 27 RBI on the summer.
- Schau also turned in a multi-hit night, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI.
- Leon Davidson (North Carolina A&T) once again was phenomenal in relief. The right-hander tossed 2.2 perfect innings on the mound, striking out four. Davidson entered when the game was still close and kept the Dock Spiders’ offense at bay until the Mallards’ poured on the runs in the eighth.
Next Up
The Mallards continue their eight-game road swing with a trip to Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, to take on the Green Bay Booyah. First pitch from Capital Credit Union Park on Saturday is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards’ season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.
