Following an off day, the Madison Mallards (12-9) hosted the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (7-14) and came away with an 11-7 victory.
The Rafters went up 3-0 in the first, but the Mallards bounced right back in the bottom of the second on a three-run double from Michael Fuhrman (UC – San Diego).
The Mallards then went up 6-3 on a two-run home run from JT Benson (Louisville) in the third. It was Benson’s fourth on the season, and third in the last week.
Then in the fifth, the Mallards home run leader Alex Iadisernia (Elon) came up big once again, hitting a ball out of the Duck Pond for his 10th bomb of the season. Iadisernia now leads the Northwoods League in home runs as he is the first to reach double-digits on the year.
The Mallards pitching staff held the Rafters scoreless from the fifth inning on with the exception of a solo home run from E.J. Exposito (Long Island) in the ninth. Jared Fong (Washington – St. Louis) closed out the last two innings in the Mallards 11-7 victory.
The Mallards welcomed a season high attendance tonight of 6,256 fans at the Duck Pond for bark at the park night as well as the special guest appearance from WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who coached the first three innings at first base.
Tonight was the first in the home-and-home series with the Rafters. Tomorrow night, these teams will match up in Wisconsin Rapids at 6:35 p.m. for the final matchup against each other in the 2021 season.
