The Madison Mallards (37-26) dropped an 8-7 decision to the Battle Creek Bombers (22-41) on Thursday at C.O. Brown Stadium. The Bombers never backed down after big offensive innings for the Mallards and Battle Creek ultimately outlasted Madison.
The Mallards’ offense exploded for five hits in the first inning, leading to four runs. Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) started the scoring with an RBI double. Drew Williams (San Jose State) later notched his 17th RBI of the summer before a two-RBI double from Drew Benefield (Louisville) pushed the Mallards ahead 4-0.
However, the Bombers quickly responded in the bottom of the first inning. John Malcolm (Vanderbilt) laced an RBI single to put Battle Creek on the board. Then, an error by the Mallards allowed two runs to score and close Madison’s lead to 4-3.
In the second, Battle Creek scored another run on an error to tie the game 4-4.
Madison bounced back in the third inning. The Mallards loaded the bases with just one out. Then, Timo Schau (Southern Wesleyan) drew a bases-loaded walk to force home a run. A Bomber throwing error allowed two more runs to score and put the Mallards back on top 7-4.
Again, the Bombers were not disturbed by the deficit. After a few quiet innings, Battle Creek pushed across three runs in the sixth to tie the game again, this time at 7-7. Michael Morrissette (Miami-Ohio) laced an RBI single before a passed ball allowed another run to score. An RBI single from Caleb Balgaard (Iowa Western) capped the scoring.
Malcom smacked an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Bombers an 8-7 lead, their first lead of the night.
John Sakowski (Creighton) allowed the single to Malcom in the eighth and is charged for the loss. Sakowski yielded two runs, only one of which was earned.
Kevin Smith (Compton College) earned the win for the Bombers while Beaux Bonvillain (Central Oklahoma) picked up the save with a clean ninth.
Turning Point
The Mallards held a 7-4 lead for the majority of the middle innings. In the sixth, the Bombers struck for three runs to tie the game. After a 30-minute light delay, the Mallards could not muster any momentum in the final three innings and Battle Creek scratched across the go-ahead, unearned run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Top Mallards
- Austin Blazevic (SEMO) led the offense with a 3-for-5 night. Blazevic was the lone Mallard to score more than one run and he is now hitting .331.
- Benefield went 2-for-3 at the plate and tallied a team-high two RBI. Benefield also drew a walk and reached safely in all but one of his plate appearances.
- Williams was the other Mallard with a multi-hit game. He turned in a 2-for-4 night and drove in a run. In the fifth inning, Williams crushed his sixth double of the season.
Next Up
The Mallards and Bombers close out their two-game series on Friday night at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards’ season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.
