Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (3-8, 31-16) defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks (8-4, 20-28) with a 5-3 win at Warner Park on Sunday afternoon. The Mallards needed only eight hits to push across five runs and rode clutch pitching and consistent defense to the win over the Woodchucks. Despite allowing ten hits in the game, five Mallards pitchers combined to keep the Woodchucks offense in check, holding Wisconsin scoreless through the final five innings.
Turning Point
Andrew Baker (Florida) scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a wild pitch, giving the Mallards a 4-3 lead. After that, the Mallards relied on strong pitching and defense for the remainder of the ballgame. In the fifth, Madison reliever Tanner Rogen (Oral Roberts) faced a jam with runners on second and third with only one out. Rogen retired Alex Toral before Jake Randa (NW Florida State) made a spectacular diving catch in right field to end the inning and preserve the Mallards one-run lead.
Later in the ballgame, the Leon Hunter faced a tough situation. With runners on first and third and two down in the eighth inning, Hunter induced a slow chopper to the left side that was smoothly fielded by Tyler Plantier (Richmond) who fired to first to end the inning. The 5-3 groundout kept the Madison lead at 4-3.
The Mallards were able to post an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth before Trace Norkus(North Florida) came on in the ninth to earn his eleventh save of the season.
Top Mallards
- Right fielder Jake Randa was 1-for-3 at the dish while making his presence felt on defense. The Mallards corner outfielder made a number of crucial catches and sealed the win with a sliding catch with two runners on in the ninth inning.
- Third baseman Tyler Plantier went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
- Designated hitter Andrew Baker cranked a solo shot in the third inning and finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
- Starting pitcher Justin Watland (San Jose State) lasted 4.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits while picking up a pair of strikeouts.
- Reliever Jonah Smith (Creighton) tossed 1.2 innings out of the pen and allowed only one hit while striking out a pair. Smith gave way to Leon Hunter (NC A&T) and Trace Norkuswho kept Wisconsin off the board.
Next Up
The Mallards have an off day tomorrow before hosting the Lakeshore Chinooks for two games on Tuesday night at Warner Park. The first game will be the continuation of the postponed game from Friday, July 13 and will start at 4:00 PM. Game two will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one and will be seven innings. The games feature Group Health Cooperative Fitness night and the Pre-Game Goat Yoga ticket special. Gates will open at 3:00 PM. For tickets and more information visit mallardsbaseball.com. Make sure to catch every Mallards game on The Zone, 1670 AM and 96.7 FM.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via theNorthwoods League portal. For more information, visitwww.mallardsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
