Madison comes back from five down just to be walked-off in the 9th

Kenosha, WI – A three-run bottom of the 9th inning allowed the Kenosha Kingfish to celebrate their win in the first matchup between the Kingfish and Mallards since 2021 from Simmons Field.

Both defenses were off to strong starts on Tuesday night as Jake Stipp for Kenosha and Giovanni Canales for Madison threw zeros on the scoreboard through the first two innings. The Kingfish got to Canales in the bottom of the 3rd with five runs scored on four hits and a Mallards’ error, their first of three on the night. Tucker Zdunich ripped home a two-run double in the inning to help Kenosha pick up the early 5-0 lead.

Stipp did not allow a hit through four innings but saw trouble brew in the top of the 5th. Madison’s offense caught in the blink of an eye, scoring two runs on a Mike Gupton single which drove in two runs to cut the lead to three. Madison added another run against reliever Jaxson Easterlin in the 6th with an RBI single off the bat of Korbyn Dickerson. The 7th inning is where the offense shined through. Against two different Kingfish arms, the Mallards crossed four runs capped by a two-run single from Owen Jackson to take a 7-5 lead, climbing all the way back from the early five-run deficit.

All of the Mallards offense occurred while reliever Josh Wintroub was cutting through the Kenosha order from the 5th through 7th innings. Wintroub allowed just two baserunners; one on a single and the other on an error.

After a scoreless 8th inning from Kevin Fee, Madison turned to the right-hander from Western Kentucky, Cole Heath for his first closing opportunity. A walk out of a full count for 9-hole hitter Matt Wolfe led off the bottom of the 9th. After a sacrifice bunt to move Wolfe over, the Kingfish swatted three straight singles to tie the game at 7-7. Heath was able to strike out Miguel Useche before facing Lance Trippel, who entered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 8th. Trippel singled through the middle infield, scoring Zdunich from second base to win the game, 8-7.

Following the heartbreak loss at Simmons Field, the Mallards get a chance at revenge against their rivals from Kenosha with the first home game since last Wednesday at Warner Park. First pitch tomorrow night is scheduled for 6:05 P.M..