Following a loss in ten innings to the Kalamazoo Growlers on Friday night, the Madison Mallards (9-7) were at home once again and they came away with a 12-10 loss in a wild game against the Wisconsin Woodchucks (10-6).

There was action in almost every inning of this one, as the Woodchucks had 15 hits compared to the Mallards 14. The only inning where neither team scored a run was the eighth.

The big inning for the Woodchucks was the third inning, where they knocked starter Ryan O’Hara (Illinois) out of the game. They scored five runs in the inning as O’Hara hit the 35 pitch limit and was forced to exit.

The Mallards though kept putting the pressure on. JT Benson (Louisville) hit his first of two home runs on the night in the 4th. It was a two-run shot to bring the Mallards within two.

Benson went 4-for-5 on the night with those two home runs and two singles. He’s now hit three home runs on the season, all coming against the Woodchucks.

Benson wasn’t the only Mallard to homer though, as catcher Josh Caron (Nebraska) hit a two-run bomb in the seventh that brought the score to 11-10 in the favor of the Woodchucks.

Following that home run, the Mallards loaded the bases but failed to score. The Woodchucks then tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth on an RBI-single from Kevin Kilpatrick and won by a final of 12-10.

Kilpatrick was the star of the night at the plate. That RBI single was his third RBI of the ballgame and his fifth hit. He went 5-for-5 with three singles, a double and a solo home run as well as a walk.

The Mallards had their season-high number of fans in attendance at the Duck Pond at Warner Park for the third straight night with 6,121 fans enjoying the shootout.

Tonight’s game was the first in the series with the Woodchucks with tomorrow’s series finale scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. Following tomorrow’s day game the Mallards will head to Fond Du Lac to play the Dock Spiders.