Mallards Remain Winless in Extra Innings After Loss
Madison drops 11-inning match with Lakeshore on Monday night
Madison, WI – The Mallards returned home after a long trip to Michigan on Monday night to square off with the Lakeshore Chinooks at Warner Park for the first time since June 8th. Lakeshore was able to reclaim their lead late to knock off Madison 4-2 in 11 innings.
Lakeshore got off to an early start thanks to a Madison error in the top of the 1st inning but the Mallards’ offense was able to muster a run of their own on a Chad McCann (2-4, RBI, BB) single to score J.J. Rollon, who led off the bottom half with a base knock of his own. Following the two hits in the 1st, the Mallards offense was stagnant for the next seven. Lakeshore’s right fielder Andy Nelson rocketed his second home run of the season off Ducks’ starter Alex Hayes in the top of the 4th to take a 2-1 advantage. Hayes (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 K) put in a good start after his previous while notching a season-high in strikeouts.
The third hit for Madison was tabbed in the 5th off the bat of J.T. Mabry. The Mallards had base runners in every inning after the Mabry single but was unable to score any until the 9th. Both bullpens tossed scoreless baseball until rally time. Madison trotted out both Bryce Leedle (2.0 IP, 2 H, 5 K) and Steven Lacey, who loaded the bases in the top of the 9th on three consecutive walks before earning all three outs to keep Lakeshore scoreless. Leedle has now struck out 13 in his last two outings.
The Chinooks turned to their big right handed reliever from Kent State Calvin Bickerstaff in the bottom of the 9th to face off against the meat of the Mallards’ order. Scott Shaw, who nearly hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the 4th, almost did it again with one out. Shaw bounced a triple off the wall to put Madison in business. One batter later, Tommy Carpenter flew a sacrifice fly into left to tie the game at 2-2. Madison had a great chance in the bottom of the 10th after leaving two Chinooks on base in the away half. Liam Moreno stole third with nobody out. A flyout, groundout, and another groundout later, Moreno was stranded on third. Austin Bestul, making his debut, scampered back out to the mound for the 11th and Nelson mashed his second home run of the day to give Lakeshore a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the 11th, the Mallards loaded the bases on a walk and a single with no outs. After Bickerstaff struck out Shaw to get the first out, Chinooks’ skipper Travis Akree handed the ball to Jacob Dillon. Dillon forced a ground ball off the bat of Carpenter to draw a double play and end the game.
Two Mallards head to the Major League Dreams Showcase tomorrow in La Crosse before the team continues play on Wednesday night against Lakeshore at Warner Park in Madison. Game action on Wednesday can be found on the Northwoods League website under the ‘Live Action’ tab with pregame coverage 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. Now in its’ 29th 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, 300 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 and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.mallardsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
