Madison, WI – The Madison Mallards (12-7) nearly erased a six-run deficit on Sunday afternoon, but their late comeback fell just short in a 6-5 loss to the Richmond Flying Mummies (11-9) in the series finale at Warner Park.
After three scoreless innings, Richmond broke through in the fourth when Ashton Seymore (Georgetown University) launched a solo home run to put the Flying Mummies ahead 1-0. The Mallards struggled to generate offense against Richmond starter Tyler Biddinger (Bushnell University), who tossed six no-hit innings and struck out four, keeping Madison off the scoreboard through the middle innings.
Richmond added to its lead in the sixth. Eli Bennett (Indiana University) delivered an RBI single to make it 2-0 before a balk brought home another run. Jimmy Chadwell (Columbia University) followed with an RBI single to extend the advantage to 4-0. The Flying Mummies added two more runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run homer from Drew Phillips (Miami University Ohio), stretching the lead to 6-0.
Facing a sizable deficit, the Mallards finally broke through against the Richmond bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. Marcelino Alonso (Indiana State University) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run, and Isaac Pamaran (Florida State University) followed with a bases-loaded walk. Aaron Holland (UW-Whitewater) then lifted a sacrifice fly, trimming the deficit to 6-3.
Madison continued to chip away in the eighth inning. Brock Lulewicz (McLennan Community College) lined an RBI single to make it 6-4, and Cooper Berry (Pomona-Pitzer) followed with another run-scoring hit to bring the Mallards within one.
The comeback bid carried into the ninth, where Madison put the tying run on base and brought the winning run to the plate. Jack Gold (Pomona-Pitzer) stepped in, representing the winning run, but his deep fly ball to the warning track was hauled in for the final out as Richmond escaped with the victory.
Biddinger earned the win for Richmond on the mound. Luke Fricker (University of Missouri) turned in a solid start for Madison, allowing just one run over five innings, but was charged with the loss. Conner Vanderluitgaren (University of Evansville) recorded his first save of the season.
After two days off, the Mallards will travel to Kenosha for a doubleheader against the Kingfish on Wednesday. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. Madison returns to Warner Park on Friday to host the Lakeshore Chinooks at 6:05 p.m.
