Mallards Show Off Pop, Fall in Wausau
Madison goes deep three times in road loss to Woodchucks
Wausau, WI – The Mallards traveled to Athletic Park on Thursday night to open a two-game set with the Wausau Woodchucks. After defeating the ‘Chucks on Monday night on the road, Madison fell 8-5 with late-game drama in full effect.
For the third consecutive outing, Tommy Ellisen did not allow an earned run but did see runners score in unearned fashion. The Woodchucks scoring began in the bottom of the 2nd with the help of two Mallards’ errors. The first of which was a throw from shortstop Noah Smith which sent the first baseman Chad McCann down the baseline but although the Mallards’ infield was sure that McCann applied the tag to the runner, Zach Kluvers was called safe to extend the frame. Wausau took a 2-0 lead one batter later on a Hamilton Davis throwing error to the plate which would have nabbed Dwight Allen off the paths. Ellisen finished his start after six innings, striking out a career-high eight and throwing 102 pitches. Madison’s offense was jolted by three solo home runs on Thursday. The first of which was from catcher Christian Rivera in the top of the 3rd, the next from McCann in the 4th, and another from Tommy Carpenter, who made his debut, in the 7th. The other Ducks’ run was scored in the top of the 5th on a Josh Caron single. Hamilton singled in Smith with one out in the 7th to give the Mallards a 5-2 edge. Hamilton was eventually thrown out at home after Caron flew out to center field, Maurice Gomez threw a dart from center to catch the youngster at the plate.
Following the 7th inning stretch, Madison’s recurring nightmare of Chase Hug continued as the ‘Chucks left fielder roped a double scoring two runs and bringing the game within one against reliever J.J. Baez. The game was tied on Nik Levenstiens’ single to cross Hug. After the Mallards went down 1-2-3 at the hands of Carter Heninger, trouble arose against Dominic Murgo (L, 0-1). Back-to-back errors led off the inning for Wausau before a balk, moving both runners in scoring position for Tyler Cox. Shortly after, Cox drove a ball into the Wausau night for a walk-off three-run home run to finish the game.
The team returns to Warner Park to wrap up the home-and-home series with Wausau tomorrow at 6:35 PM. Game coverage can be found under the ‘Live Action’ tab on the Northwoods League website with pregame beginning at 6:10 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.
