Madison, WI- The Madison Mallards (21-16) brought the fireworks late on offense to take down the Wausau Woodchucks (23-15) 9-3 on Thursday night at Warner Park.
The Woodchucks broke the scoreless tie in the third when Noah Malone (Loyola Marymount University) delivered an RBI single for a 1-0 advantage. Moments later, Jake Berkland (Minnesota State University) crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice, doubling the lead to 2-0 Wausau.
The Mallards’ bats were silent for five innings, but they roared to life in the sixth. Jimmy Anderson (Heartland Community College) blasted a game-tying two-run homer to knot it at 2-2, before Davis Hamilton (University of Minnesota) lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Mallards on top, 3-2.
Daniel Rogers (University of Iowa) extended the lead with a towering home run to right field in the seventh inning, making it 4-2. Anderson then followed with his second homer of the game, giving the Mallards back-to-back blasts.
Madison pulled away in the eighth inning. Rogers delivered a two-run single to stretch the lead to 7-2, followed by an RBI single from Jordy Lopez (University of California Berkeley) to make it 8-2. Liam Moreno (St. Cloud State University) then capped the rally with another RBI single, pushing the score to 9-2.
The Woodchucks added a run in the ninth inning on a Dom Rodriguez (University of Arizona) solo home run, but the Mallards won it 9-3. Isaac Milburn (Purdue University) fired seven strong innings to earn his third win of the season on the mound. Kade Douglas (Colorado State-Pueblo) was charged with the loss, while Blake Barker (University of Virginia) picked up the save.
The Mallards and Woodchucks will face off again in Wausau on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Madison will return home to Warner Park on Saturday to face the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m.