Mequon, WI – The Madison Mallards (13-9) erased a late deficit but came up just short in an 8-7 loss to the Lakeshore Chinooks (11-11) on Thursday night in the first of four consecutive meetings between the two teams.

The Mallards struck first in the third inning. Jack Gold (Pomona-Pitzer) delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0, and Aaron Holland (UW-Whitewater) later drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 2-0. Lakeshore answered in the bottom half of the inning when Sam Meidenbauer (UW-Platteville) lifted a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 2-1.

The Chinooks evened the score in the fourth when David Hogg II (Grayson Community College) crossed the plate on a double play. Moments later, Sam Myers (Arizona State University) lined an RBI single to give Lakeshore its first lead of the night at 3-2.

The Chinooks added to their advantage in the fifth. Hogg II drove in a run with a single before Cade Sears (Vanderbilt University) ripped an RBI double to make it 5-2.

Madison began to chip away in the seventh inning. Aiden Arnett (Virginia Tech) scored on a passed ball, and Gold later came home on an error to cut the deficit to 5-4. Lakeshore responded immediately in the bottom half, as Sears launched a two-run home run to push the lead back to three at 7-4.

Down to their final three outs, the Mallards mounted a rally in the ninth. Marcelino Alonso (Indiana State University) laced a two-run double to bring Madison within a run, and a wild pitch later in the inning allowed him to score the tying run and knot the game at 7-7.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bryan Lorenz (South Mountain Community College) delivered a walk-off single to lift the Chinooks to the 8-7 victory. Zach Gibbs (Riverside City Community College) picked up the win on the mound for Lakeshore, while Eamonn Mulhern (St. Cloud State University) took the loss for Madison.

The Mallards and Chinooks will meet again Friday night at Warner Park to begin a two-game series in Madison. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.