Wausau, WI – The Madison Mallards (45-18) defeated the Wausau Woodchucks (44-18) 6-3 on Saturday night in Wausau to win their fifth game in a row and extend their lead in the Great Lakes West division to 2.5 games.

The Woodchucks got off to a hot start on offense in the bottom of the first inning, when they loaded the bases with nobody out against Mallards starting pitcher Coley Kilpatrick (North Carolina A&T). A sacrifice fly and an error allowed the Woodchucks to take a 2-0 lead. 

It didn’t take long for the Mallards to have an answer at the plate. Dawson Hokuf (Cincinnati) cut the lead in half with an RBI single in the top of the second inning. Then, Isaac Kim (UC Santa Barbara) drove in a pair of runs with a single of his own to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Mallards lead. 

Cal Fisher (Florida State) extended the lead to 4-2 with an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning. Then in the top of the sixth, Korbyn Dickerson (Louisville) homered for the second straight day, sending a two-run shot over the left field wall to make it a 6-2 game.

The lead proved to be insurmountable for the Woodchucks, who were held to one run over the final eight innings of the game by the Mallards bullpen. Javier Lobo (Harding) tossed three shutout innings in relief and earned the win on the mound. Sebastian Escobar (Central Methodist) was charged with the loss for the Woodchucks. Jase Schueller (Vanguard) tallied his sixth save of the season.

With the win, the Mallards improve to 21-8 in the second half, and now lead the Great Lakes West division by 2.5 games over the Woodchucks, who fall to 18-10 in the half. The Mallards also now own the best overall record in the Northwoods League at 45-18.

The two teams will meet for the final time in the regular season at Warner Park on Sunday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.