Madison, WI – The Madison Mallards defeated the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 8-6 on Friday night at Warner Park for their fifth straight win.

 

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth Korbyn Dickerson (Louisville) gave the Mallards the lead with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Shai Robinson (Illinois State) delivered another sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3-1. 

 

Mason Buss (Kansas State) had another solid outing on the mound for the Mallards. He pitched five innings, and allowed just 2 runs. His season ERA now sits at 2.08.

 

Madison took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Dock Spiders answered in the top of the sixth on a Drew Barragan (Embry Riddle Aeronautical) RBI single to bring the lead back to one. 

 

After recording four hits on Friday night, Liam Moreno (St. Cloud State) belted his first home run of the season in the sixth inning, to extend the Madison lead to 5-3.

 

The Mallards offense provided some insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning, as they tacked on three more runs to widen the lead to 8-3. It turned out to be an important inning for Madison due to what would unfold in the ninth.

 

With two outs and nobody on base in the ninth inning, Fond du Lac rallied for three runs to cut the Mallards lead to 8-6. Aaron Jungers (Lindenwood) entered the game with the tying run on first base and secured the final out of the ballgame as Madison escaped the furious comeback attempt. 

 

Buss earned the win for the Mallards, his second of the season. Justin Roitman (Ellsworth Community College) was charged with the loss for Fond du Lac. Jungers earned the save for the Mallards, his first of the season. 

 

The Mallards head to Fond du Lac to face the Dock Spiders again on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. The next home game for the Mallards at Warner Park is on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Mud Puppies at 6:05 p.m.