Traverse City, MI – The Madison Mallards defeated the Traverse City Pit Spitters 7-4 on Tuesday night in the first of a two-game series between the teams.

The Pit Spitters took the lead on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the second inning. A bases-loaded walk from Brandon Chang (Brown) and a sacrifice fly from Ethan Guerra (Paris Junior College) extended the early Traverse City advantage, as they took a 3-0 lead in the inning.

With the score the same in the fifth inning, the Madison bats came to life. Charlie Marion (Madison College) hit an RBI single to get the Mallards on the board, and Korbyn Dickerson (Louisville) drew a bases-loaded walk to bring the Mallards within one. Then, a Traverse City throwing error gave Madison their first lead of the night, and Frankie Carney (UC Irvine) put the finishing touches on a five-run inning with an RBI single.

Traverse City got a run back in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Madison lead to 5-4, but the Mallards bullpen was strong, and the offense added some insurance in the ninth inning. Shai Robinson (Illinois State) gave the Mallards some breathing room when he knocked in a run with an RBI single, then scored a run on a Jake Munroe (John A. Logan Community College) ground out. The Mallards took a 7-4 lead, and went on to win by that score.

Cole Heath (Western Kentucky) picked up the win on the mound for the Mallards, his second of the season. Kellen Roberts (Evansville) was charged with the loss for the Pit Spitters. Jase Schueller (Vanguard) earned his third save of the season. 

The Mallards and the Pit Spitters will face off once again on Wednesday night at Turtle Creek Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The Mallards will return to Warner Park on Thursday, when they’ll face the Green Bay Rockers in a single admission doubleheader beginning at 4:05 p.m.