Madison, WI – The Madison Mallards defeated the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 6-5 on Wednesday night at Warner Park on a walk-off fielder’s choice from Connor Capece. 

 

It was a pitcher’s duel between Tyler Schmitt (Wisconsin – La Crosse) and Noah Wech (Oklahoma State) in the early part of the game, as neither team scored through the first four innings. 

 

Fond du Lac finally broke through in the fifth inning, as Drew Prosek (Gulf Coast State College) ripped an RBI single to score Travis Strickler (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical) and give the Dock Spiders a 1-0 lead. They doubled the lead an inning later when Drew Barragan (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical) scored on a Strickler sacrifice fly.

 

The offense finally came alive for the Mallards in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the lead cut to 2-1 already, Connor Capece (Creighton) hit an RBI double to tie the game 2-2. Then with two runners on base, Jake Schaffner punched a two-run double to the opposite field in left, giving the Mallards their first lead of the night. Madison scored five total in the inning to take a 5-2 lead.

 

However, the Dock Spiders did not go down without a fight. Fond du Lac scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game 5-5, as Caden Shapiro (Princeton) drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. 

 

The Mallards would rally in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Capece, who hit a soft ground ball to the pitcher Townsend Stevenson (Washington University). Stevenson looked towards third to get the force out, but nobody was covering the base, and the Mallards won the game on the blunder. 

 

Liam McKillop (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) picked up his first win of the season on the mound for the Mallards. Stevenson was charged with the loss for the Dock Spiders. 

 

The Mallards head to Rockford next for a doubleheader against the Rivets on Thursday. The first game is scheduled for 11:05 a.m., while the second game will begin at approximately 6:35 p.m.  The next home game at Warner Park for the Mallards is on Saturday against the Minnesota Mud Puppies at 6:05 p.m.