The Madison Mallards (36-23) notched another triumph over the Lakeshore Chinooks (28-31), despite sloppy defense by both teams. Madison and Lakeshore combined for four errors on the night, ultimately ruling in a 12-6 win for the Mallards.

Madison grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after EJ Ranel (Lenoir-Rhyne) made his way to home plate, off an error by the Chinooks infield. Striking back in the next half inning, the Chinooks tied the Mallards at one, off an RBI by Nathan Aide (Illinois).

Lakeshore started to take advantage of the Mallards struggling defense. The Chinooks tacked on two more runs after a wild pitch scored Daryl Myers (Benedictine College), followed by an RBI single by Ronnie Sweeny III (Minnesota). Madison trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the third.

The Mallards added another run in the bottom of the fourth. An RBI driven in by Drew Benefield (Louisville) cut the Chinooks lead, to 3-2.

Lakeshore was unable to come up with any runs to cushion their lead in the fifth, while the Mallards offense started to heat up. Austin Blazevic (Southeast Missouri) slammed an RBI single to tie the game for the second time, making it three all, going into the sixth.

Myers ripped a single deep to right field, sending Justin Olson (Kentucky) to the plate. A diving attempt by Logan Michaels (Virginia) to throw Olson out did not rule in favor of the Mallards. The RBI by Myers gave the Chinooks the lead back 4-3. The Mallards defense continued to crumble, as a walk with the bases loaded extended the Chinooks lead 5-3.

Mimicking the Mallards errors, the Chinooks let a passed ball bring the Mallards within one, 5-4, in the bottom of the sixth. Ben Anderson (Georgia) stepped up to the plate and changed the game, knocking a two RBI single to give the Mallards back the lead, 6-5. Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) and Austin Blazevic had back-to-back RBI singles to push the Mallards lead to 8-5.

Lakeshores defense began to deteriorate, as another error allowed the Mallards to send a man home. Madison took a 9-5 lead, after hitting their way through their lineup. In his second plate appearance of the inning, Nick Gile (Madison College) drove in another run to double the Mallards lead 10-5. Pinch hitter Nicholas Figus entered the game and came in clutch during his first at bat. Figus drove in two more runs on a stand up double, giving the Mallards a whopping 12-6 lead.

Despite a strong offense in the sixth, the Mallards gave the Chinooks more opportunities to score and cut the lead in the top of the seventh. Two runs for Lakeshore were brought in by an error by the first baseman and a walk with the bases loaded. The runs cut the Mallards lead by five once again, 12-7. A balk advanced the runners 90 feet to bring in the Chinooks last run of the inning. The score was 12-8 going into the bottom of the seventh.

Madison had a silent bottom of the inning, but the Chinooks bats made more noise to pin on another run. The Mallards held a 12-9 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.

Theo Denlinger (Bradley) was dominant out of the bullpen. Denlinger punched four consecutive strikeouts to shut down the Chinooks lineup and pick up his ninth save of the summer.

The 12-9 victory marked the last regular season game the Mallards will play against the Chinooks in front of their home crowd.

AJ Archambo (Oral Roberts) was awarded the win after getting the last out of the sixth inning.

Jarrett Blunt (Iowa Central) took the loss after giving up the majority of the Mallards hits in the bottom of the sixth.

Turning Point

The Mallards scored nine runs in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 12-5 and accumulate seven insurance runs.

Top Mallards

• Denlinger was named Impact Player of the Night after earning his ninth save of the summer.
• Anderson knocked a two RBI single to give the Mallards back the lead in the sixth, 6-5.
• Every starting Mallards player scored.

Up Next

The Mallards will make their way to Kapco park tomorrow to conclude the series against Lakeshore. Tomorrow’s game will be the last time the two teams face each other during the regular season. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m.