The Madison Mallards travelled to Wisconsin Rapids for the second game of an early-season home-and-away against the Rafters, losing in a high-scoring battle 12-8.
It was a back-and-forth game with the Mallards jumping out early, including an Alex Iadisernia (Elon) solo shot to left field in his Mallards debut as Madison came out with a 3-0 lead in the third.
The Rafters responded to their fast start with two big innings of their own, including a five-run fourth, with Wisconsin Rapids batting around featuring RBI-singles from EJ Exposito (LIU) and Benjamin Swords (Webster).
The Mallards closed in on Rapids’ 7-3 lead in the top of the 5th with a long 2-RBI double from Bryant Shellenbarger (Akron), and eventually capped off the inning with a pair of RBIs from Vomhoff (UW-Whitewater) and Slonim (Edgewood) to tie the game at 7.
Rapids scoring five unanswered runs in the following three innings was all they needed to ensure a shootout victory at home against Madison, as Rapids reliever Collin Kiernan (1-0, 3.24 ERA) took the win while the Mallards’ Beuerlein (0-1, 0.00 ERA) was credited with the loss.
Next up for the Mallards is a two-game home set with Traverse City, with first pitch on Sunday set for 4:05pm in Madison.