Madison, WI – The Rockford Rivets (40-17) scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Madison Mallards (38-17) 3-1 on Thursday night at Warner Park.

 

Brandon Cahill (Walsh University) made his first start for the season for the Mallards, and he tossed four shutout innings. He lowered his season ERA to 5.94 in the outing. 

 

The Mallards struck first in the bottom of the third inning when Will Vierling (Louisville) drilled a solo home run to right field. It was the fifth home run of the season for Vierling, and it gave the Mallards a 1-0 lead. 

 

The Vierling homer was the only mistake on the mound for Rivets starting pitcher Zach Longshore (University of New Orleans). He tossed 7.1 innings with just one run allowed and struck out six hitters. It was the longest outing for him this season. 

 

After Madison took the lead in the third, neither team scored again until the ninth, when the Rivets offense finally came to life. Maddox Mihalakis (Arizona) tied the game 1-1 with an RBI ground-rule double to score TJ Williams (Heartland Community College). Mihalakis then scored on a passed ball to give the Rivets a 2-1 lead, and Tommy Townsend (Butler) extended the lead to 3-1 with an RBI single.

 

The Mallards went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning and the Rivets sealed the win. Luke Leverton (Western Kentucky) was credited with the win in relief for Rockford, while Carson Fluno (Louisiana – Lafayette) was charged with the loss for the Mallards. Evan Jones (Western Kentucky) earned the save for the Rivets, his first of the season.

 

With the loss, the Mallards fall to 14-7 in the second half of the season, and remain in second place in the Great Lakes West division. The Rivets improve to 14-7 in the second half, and sit in first place in the Great Lakes East. 

 

The two teams will face off once again on Friday night at Warner Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.