Madison, WI- The Madison Mallards (12-7) fell behind early and couldn’t find their way back on Monday night at Warner Park, as the Rockford Rivets (12-8) were victorious by a score of 10-1.

The Rivets started strong in the top of the first inning, as Jayce Blalock (Arkansas-Little Rock) lined a two-run double into left field to give Rockford a 2-0 lead, and a bases loaded walk later in the inning extended the advantage to three.

With the Rivets leading 5-0 in the fourth inning, Blalock returned to the plate and crushed a grand slam off of the video board in left field to extend the Rockford lead to nine runs.

The Mallards struggled to generate offense against Rockford starting pitcher Reece Tarini (Louisiana Tech University), who was efficient over seven innings pitched. The only run of the game for Madison came from a Carson Hansen (University of Kentucky) RBI groundout in the bottom of the sixth.

Rockford added a tenth run in the top of the ninth, as Blalock capped off a monster night with another home run. He finished the night with two home runs and seven runs batted in. 

Tarini earned the win on the mound for the Rivets, his second of the season. Kade Durnin (Texas Christian University) was charged with the loss for the Mallards. Madison remains in first place in the Great Lakes West, while Rockford is tied for first place in the Great Lakes East.

The Mallards are back in action against the Rivets on Tuesday night in Rockford, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Madison will return home to Warner Park on Thursday night to face the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters at 6:35 p.m.