Madison, WI – A walk-off sacrifice fly from Frankie Carney (UC Irvine) capped off a six-run comeback victory, as the Madison Mallards (40-17) defeated the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (28-29) 6-5 at Warner Park on Saturday night.
The Rafters got off to a strong start on offense, plating two runs in the second inning, and extending the lead to 3-0 in the third inning on a solo home run from Chris Arroyo (Virginia). Arroyo wasn’t done after his first home run, as he blasted a second long ball to right field in the top of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 5-0 for Wisconsin Rapids.
With two outs in the fifth inning, the Mallards offense finally woke up. Charlie Marion (Madison College) hit a double, and then scored on an RBI single from Jake Schaffner (North Dakota State). The very next batter Davis Hamilton (North Dakota State) stepped up to the plate and cranked a three-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4.
The score remained the same all the way up until the bottom of the ninth inning. After Schaffner and Hamilton recorded back-to-back singles to begin the frame, Korbyn Dickerson crushed an RBI double to right field to tie the game at five. Then with the winning run at third, Carney lifted a game-winning sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hamilton and capping off a thrilling Mallards victory.
Ryan Osinski (Virginia) picked up the win for the Mallards in relief, his first of the season. Kyler McIntosh (Alabama State) was charged with the loss for Wisconsin Rapids. For the second straight game, the Mallards bullpen did not allow a single run.
With the win, the Mallards improve to 16-7 in the second half, and remain in second place in the Great Lakes West division. Meanwhile the Rafters fall to 13-11, and sit in third place in the Great Lakes West, three and a half games behind the Mallards.
These two teams will meet for the final time in the regular season on Sunday afternoon in Wisconsin Rapids. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The Mallards return to Warner Park on Tuesday night to face the Kenosha Kingfish at 6:05 p.m.
