Madison, WI – Preston Yaucher (Penn State University) delivered a moment to remember on Sunday afternoon at Warner Park, launching a walk-off home run to give the Madison Mallards (9-5) a comeback win over the Green Bay Rockers (7-6).
The Rockers got off to a hot start, as Max Humphrey (Kent State University) hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to make it 2-0 Green Bay. Humphrey added an RBI double in the fourth to extend the lead, and the Rockers scored three more runs before the inning was over to take a commanding 6-0 advantage.
Jiyeong Park (Abilene Christian University) was fantastic through five innings on the mound for the Rockers. Madison did not score through the first five innings and had only two baserunners to that point in the game.
In the sixth, the Mallards offense exploded. Two runners scored on an error to get Madison on the board and make it 6-2. Brock Lulewicz (McClennan Community College) followed with a two-run single to bring the Mallards within two runs. Later in the inning, Marcelino Alonso (Indiana State University) delivered a two-run single to tie the game at six.
The Rockers threatened to retake the lead with the bases loaded in the eighth, but Eamonn Mulhern (St. Cloud State University) came in and induced an inning-ending double play to escape the jam. The Mallards turned three inning-ending double plays in the game. In the ninth, the Rockers put the go-ahead run at third base, but Mulhern struck out RJ Furcal Jr. (Sam Houston State University) to work out of another jam.
After Dom Jacoby (University of Louisville) led off the ninth inning with a walk, Yaucher stepped up to the plate and demolished a 1-0 pitch far beyond the center-field wall to end the game, sending his Mallards teammates flying out of the dugout to greet him at home plate.
Mulhern picked up the win in relief, while Ricky Howell (Harding University) was charged with the loss. The comeback marked the second time this week that the Mallards erased a 6-0 deficit and rallied to win a ballgame.
The Mallards will be back at Warner Park to face the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
