Madison loses game one of series with Rafters due to lengthy 6th inning

Wisconsin Rapids, WI – Two strong offensive innings for the Rafters at the plate push them to their 10-5 victory over the Mallards on Monday night at Witter Field to open a home-and-home series.

Madison’s Jake Hilton received the ball for his first start of the summer on Monday and struck out the side in the 1st inning. Only one swing of the bat hurt him in his third overall assignment in the bottom of the 3rd when 2022 All-Star Brendan Bobo smashed a three-run home run to crack the scoring. Hilton would go on to complete five innings while striking out nine. The left-hander’s nine punchouts are the most by an individual player this season. Unfortunately for Madison, they drew Wisconsin Rapids’ southpaw Josh Howitt for the third time this year. Howitt tossed four scoreless frames against Madison’s offense. It took until the 6th for the Mallards to get on the board when Owen Jacksonscored on one of the three Rafters’ errors in the contest.

The bottom half of the 6th is where the wheels fell off for the North-Siders. Donnie Scott turned to Ryan Roehl to relieve Hilton. Roehl, in his debut, was able to pick up the first two outs after allowing two Rafters to reach. With two outs, Anthony Galason knocked in two runs to take a 5-1 lead. One hitter later, Jorge De Goti smacked another single to extend the lead to five. The bullpen was active quickly and Ben Kasten got the call for the first time this summer. Kasten threw ten consecutive pitches out of the strike zone, walking two and surrendering a three-run blast to David Rivera to blow the door open. It was the first homer of the year for Rivera.

The Mallards would score one run a piece in the next two innings and two runs in the 9th to cut into the lead, but fall short.

Madison returns to Warner Park to wrap up their series with the Rafters tomorrow for a 6:05 P.M. CST start at the Duck Pond before the double-header with Lakeshore on Wednesday.