Madison, WI – The Madison Mallards (26-12) defeated the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (11-27) in front of a sold-out crowd at Warner Park on Friday night.

The Mallards struck first in the opening inning when Preston Yaucher (Penn State University) raced home on a wild pitch to give Madison a 1-0 lead. Wisconsin Rapids answered with a run in the second, but the Mallards quickly regained the advantage. Dom Jacoby (University of Louisville) delivered an RBI infield single to put Madison back in front, 2-1.

Northwoods League All-Star Ckyler Tengler (Arkansas State University) continued his strong summer on the mound, allowing just one unearned run while striking out three over three innings of work.

Madison added to its lead in the fourth inning. Cole Crafton (University of Illinois) lined an RBI double to make it 3-1 before Terek Verhage (University of St. Thomas) followed with an RBI single to stretch the advantage to 4-1.

The offense kept rolling in the fifth as Aiden Arnett (Virginia Tech) lifted a sacrifice fly to center, extending the lead to 5-1. The Rafters got a run back in the sixth, but Yaucher answered in the bottom of the seventh, launching a solo home run to push the Madison lead to 6-2.

Wisconsin Rapids made things interesting in the eighth, scoring two runs and bringing the tying run to the plate. However, Eli Hoyt (University of Louisville) entered out of the bullpen and shut the door, recording the final six outs to earn his seventh save of the season as Madison held on for the 6-4 victory.

Kyler Kaczmarski (Southeastern Community College) picked up the win in relief for the Mallards, while Casey Dresen (Madison College) was charged with the loss. Hoyt’s seventh save of the summer moved him into a tie for the Northwoods League lead.

The Mallards will travel to Wausau on Saturday to take on the Woodchucks, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Madison returns to Warner Park on Sunday for a rematch against Wausau at 1:05 p.m.