Mallards Win Streak Snapped at Four
Madison falls to Fond du Lac at home in front of sellout
Madison, WI – The Mallards fell to the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders on Sunday afternoon at Warner Park by a final score of 12-2 on the eve of the Fourth of July.
The Ducks saw their first sellout crowd of the year on Sunday and elected to throw the southpaw from the University of Illinois, Ryan O’Hara. The Mallards took an early 1-0 lead on a Liam Moreno single which scored newcomer J.J. Wetherholt in the first frame. Statistically, the Mallards are one of the best teams in the Northwoods League when they score first with a record of 12-3 when they’re on the board first. That was not the case at the Duck Pond with the Dock Spiders as Fond du Lac would score twelve consecutive runs against Mallards’ pitching. The Dock Spiders scored in six straight innings from the 2nd through the 7th and added one more run in the 9th to grow their lead at that point to 12-1. O’Hara (L, 1-2, 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) dropped his second decision of the season and was pulled after just three innings of work. He was followed by Justin Miller who was only able to last a third of an inning before being relieved by Declan Elias. Madison would use three more arms in the contest including Markell Dixon for a second straight night. Dixon has shown great strides in his last handful of batters faced after struggling with walks out of the gate.
The Mallards offense was unable to counter Fond du Lac’s against Dock Spiders’ starter Davis Rokose (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). Following the 1st inning, Rokose settled in and did not allow another hit in his third start. Fondy turned to right hander Reed Gallant with the game still in reach and Gallant (W, 2-1, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K) was dominant in his four innings on the mound. The seven strikeouts marks the second straight appearance for Gallant with seven, matching a season-high. Liam Moreno had the only multi-hit game for the Mallards at the plate.
Madison wraps up the Northwoods League first half tomorrow in Fond du Lac for the eighth matchup between the two teams. The Dock Spiders now own a 4-3 advantage in the season series. Coverage of tomorrow’s game can be found on the Northwoods League website under the ‘Live Action’ tab at 4:05 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.
