Mallards Win Second Series in a Row
Madison ties season-high hits for fourth time in win
Ashwaubenon, WI – The Mallards were able to sweep the Green Bay Rockers on Saturday night with a 10-5 at Capital Credit Union Park. The victory over the Rockers marked the third series sweep of the season and second consecutive series win for the Ducks in a row. Tonight’s win was the fourth in a row for the Mallards marking a new season high.
Madison was 5-13 on the season when the opposition scored first, that changed with the win on Saturday night after the Rockers scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the 1st. Owen Jackson drove in a run in the first frame against Mallards’ starting pitcher Michael Finan. Finan (W, 2-2, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) turned in one of his best starts of the season and was able to grind through five innings to earn his second win of the season to even his pitching record at 2-2. The Mallards scored runs in bunches to back Finan’s start beginning with the top of the 2nd inning. Liam Moreno tied the game for the Ducks with a single, scoring Payton Smith. Madison extended their lead a few batters later on an Estevan Moreno double which scored two more runs, giving the Mallards their first lead of the night. The largest group of the runs for the road team came in the top of the 4th inning against a combination of Rockers’ starter Michael Fowler and relief arm Kyle Stoddard. Although no runs were tabbed to Stoddard in the inning, he allowed all the inherited runners from Fowler to score. Christian Rivera singled home two runs, Payton Smith drove in another with an infield single, Elias Stevens hit a sacrifice fly and Jack Merrifield singled home one more to give the Mallards an 8-1 edge. The Rockers would score four runs across three innings to inch their way back, but ultimately a two-run 7th inning for Madison when Noah Smith knocked in run #10. The Ducks finished with 16 hits on the night, which matches a season-high for a fourth time.
Following Finan’s strong start was a four inning, four arm combination of Trent Hodgdon, Markell Dixon, Meade Johnson, and Tommy Ellisen. All were effective in helping the team reduce the amount of pitches thrown by their bullpen. Most importantly for the Mallards was that tonight marked the first time since June 13th that the Mallards played error-less baseball.
The Ducks return to Warner Park for one more home game in the first half of the Northwoods League season for a date with the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. The home-and-home series with Fond du Lac will round out the first half. The two teams are tied for second place in the Great Lakes West with just the two games remaining. Mallards Coverage can be found on the Northwoods League website under the ‘Live Action’ tab at 5:05 PM.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 280 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
