The Madison Mallards (29-15) split the double header against the Rockford Rivets (22-21), after coming up short in game one and feeding off Rockford’s pitching errors in game two.

The Mallards and Rivets resumed their rescheduled game, starting at 5:35 p.m. Game one began just as it left off, men on first and second base for Rockford, with two outs. Easton Murrell (Texas Tech) stepped up to the plate and earned an RBI single to quickly put Rockford ahead, 9-8.  Following Murrell’s lead, Cam McDonald (Illinois) ripped a two-RBI double to push the Rivets ahead, 11-8.

Unable to carry their momentum over from the previous day, the Mallards went down three in a row to suffer the loss.

Trevin Eubanks (Valdosta State) was awarded the win after shutting down the Mallards lineup in the final innings of the game.

The loss was charged to John Sakowski (Creighton) after he was responsible for the go ahead run that contributed to the Rivets’ victory.

After a short one-inning victory for the Rivets, game two was able to start at the scheduled time, 6:35 p.m.

The bats were silent until the bottom of the second, where the Mallards scored first off an RBI single from Nick Gile (Madison College) to take a 1-0 lead.

Offense on both sides fell silent once again, but the Rivets finally found their response in the top of the fourth, tying the game at one off a sacrifice fly by Nick Juaire (TCU). The Rivets bats continued to make some noise in the fifth. Rockford claimed a 2-1 lead after an RBI by McDonald put the Rivets ahead by one.

As usual, the Mallards did not let the score discourage their performance. Another RBI single by Gile tied the game for the second time in the bottom of the sixth, at two. The bases were loaded for EJ Ranel (Lenoir-Rhyne), who would advance on a walk to bring in a run, giving the Mallards back the lead, 3-2. With the bases still loaded, Ben Anderson (Georgia) stepped up to the plate and was put on base with a walk, pushing the Mallards up by one, 4-2.

During the seventh inning the Mallards continued to feed off of the Rivets’ pitching errors. Drew Williams (San Jose State) made it home after advancing off a balk by Sultan Solebo (Lewis) to bring the lead to 5-2.

Both teams were scoreless during the remainder of the game, letting the Mallards walk away with their 29 victory of the season and split the series.

Paul Bergstrom (Creighton) earned the win for the Mallards in game two after throwing two innings, giving up one hit and retiring six out of seven.

Sultan Solebo (Lewis) was charged with the loss after giving up four runs.

Turning Point

The Mallards were able to pull ahead after taking advantage of the Rivets pitching errors. Two back-to-back walks with the bases loaded, gave the Mallards an easy chance to bring in two runs and take a 4-2 lead.

Top Mallards

• Gile was named Impact Player of the Night after going 3-for-4 and contributing two RBIs.
• Austin Blazevic (Southeastern Missouri) went 2-for-3 with a walk.
• Deylen Miley (Bellarmine) and Leon Davidson (North Carolina A&T) were dominant out of the bullpen. Collectively the two did not allow any runs and Davidson earned his second save of the season.

Up Next

Tomorrow the Mallards wrap up their three-game homestand against the Fond Du Lac Dock Spiders (18-25). The evening also marks the first of three nights in July where the Mallards will be rebranding as the Wisconsin Cheese Curds. There will be a Ronnie bobblehead giveaway presented by The Shoe Box. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., gates will open at 5:35 p.m. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards’ season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.