Mallards Fall Behind Early, Unable to Respond
Madison dominated by Wisconsin Rapids at home
Madison, WI – The Mallards struggled for a second consecutive night after winning the first two games of their five-game homestand on Saturday with an 11-0 loss to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
The Great Lakes West 1st Half Champion Rafters got off to an early start against the debut of Joel Barker on the bump. Wisconsin Rapids pelted the outfield grass with five consecutive hits to begin the game including two doubles. The Mallards were unable to respond to the 5-0 deficit with much offense throughout the ballgame as the Ducks were only able to muster two hits the whole game. Josh Caron punched a single to begin the bottom of the 2nd and Liam Moreno slashed a single to begin the 4th but both were stranded at second base. Wisconsin Rapids’ offense added to their early lead with a Ben Ross home run to left field off Barker (4.0 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, BB, K). The right hander from Harding University was pulled from the game in the top of the 5th after the Rafters put their first two on base. Adrian Montilva entered the game and was able to strand the couple of baserunners left by Barker including an exciting double-pickle which snagged the second out of the inning.
The Mallards would use three more pitchers in the game including two All-Stars. Steven Lacey and Bryce Woody both allowed home runs to Rafters’ left fielder McKinley Erves. Erves put together a career day including the two homers, a double, and a single to go along with four runs batted in. Wisconsin Rapids’ offense put together a strong rebound following their first blowout loss of the season yesterday against Wausau. Montilva and J.J. Baez accounted for the only scoreless frames tossed by a Mallards pitcher. The Rafters used five pitchers including a strong start from Nick Torres who tossed three shutout innings. Ross put together another three-hit game in the Rafters’ dominant win. The Rafters have won all five games played against the Mallards this season.
The Mallards finish the two-game series with Wisconsin Rapids tomorrow from Warner Park before the three-game pause for the All-Star Game. Game action can be found under the ‘Live Action’ tab on the Northwoods League website at 12:45 PM for pregame show coverage and a 1:05 PM first pitch.
##
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.
