The Madison Mallards (38-27) fell 7-6 to the Rockford Rivets (32-33) in the series opener at Rivets Stadium on Saturday. The Rivets outlasted the Mallards and Rockford is squarely in the hunt for a playoff berth while the Mallards have lost three out of their last for games.

Madison started the scoring in the first inning when Ben Anderson (Georgia) drew a leadoff walk and took ultimately scored on a wild pitch.

However, the Rivets responded with a four-run bottom of the first inning. Jonny Butler (North Carolina State) laced an RBI double to plate the first run before an error allowed a second to score. Then, Alex Steinbach (Illinois) drove home a run with a sacrifice fly. Jeff Heinrich (South Carolina) roped an RBI single to cap the scoring and push Rockford in front 4-1.

The Mallards rallied back and knotted the game 4-4 in the second. Logan Michaels (Virginia) and Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) ripped back-to-back RBI singles and an error allowed another run to score in the frame.

In the fourth, Tom Josten (Central Florida) launched a solo home run to break the tie and give Rockford a 5-4 edge. The Rivets expanded their lead to 7-4 with two runs in the fifth on RBIs from Steinbach and Kirk Liebert (Wabash Valley).

Nevertheless, the Mallards did not go quietly in the final few innings. Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 7-5.

In the eighth, Bigbie hammered another RBI single to close it to a one-run, 7-6, contest. Madison had the tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings but could not drive it home to even the game and ultimately fell in the series opener.

Trevor Mareel (Washburn) donned the loss for the Mallards on the mound and is now 3-5 this summer.

Colin Kelly (St. Francis) earned the win in relief for the Rivets after tossing five innings and allowing just one run. Tanner Propst (Louisiana Tech) notched the save, getting the final five outs of the game via a strikeout.

Turning Point

Josten crushed a no-doubt solo home run to right field to begin the fourth inning, giving the Rivets a lead they did not relinquish. It was Josten’s fourth home run of the summer and he now has 26 RBI. 

Top Mallards

• Michaels mashed at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with four laser singles. He had a game-high four hits brought his batting average up to .363 on the season.
• Bigbie was the only other Mallard with multiple hits. The slugger turned in a 2-for-4 nights and collected a team-high two RBI. Bigbie still leads the Northwoods League in RBI and has driven home 67 runs this summer.
• Aidan Tyrell (Notre Dame) was strong in relief for the Mallards. The left-hander crafted 2.1 innings and did not allow a run.

Next Up

The Mallards and Rivets close out their series with a Sunday matinee in Loves Park. First pitch from Rivets Stadium is slated for 1:05 p.m. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards’ season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.