Madison, WI – The Madison Mallards defeated the Wausau Woodchucks 8-7 on Sunday afternoon at Warner Park.
The Mallards inducted Pete Alonso into the team Hall of Fame before the game, and Jake Munroe (John A. Logan Community College) honored the former Mallard slugger with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. It was the second straight day with a home run for Munroe, and it gave Madison a 2-0 lead.
The lead would be quickly extended in the second inning, as the Mallards put up four more runs, thanks in part to run scoring hits from Jake Schaffner (North Dakota State) and Charlie Marion (Madison College).
Mason Buss (Kansas State) made his first start of the season on the mound, and he was sharp. Buss pitched five innings and allowed one earned run. The right hander walked just one batter and struck out two.
The Woodchucks would mount a furious comeback in the late innings. Down 7-1, Wausau rallied to cut the Mallards lead to 7-6, with one run in the seventh inning and four runs in the eighth inning.
Brayden Smith (Iowa Western Community College) and Val Cerna (Central Methodist) both had RBI doubles in the top of the eighth inning to help bring Wausau back into the game. In the bottom of the inning, Marion delivered some insurance for the Mallards with an RBI single to extend the lead to 8-6, and that insurance would prove to be vital for Madison.
Wausau added another run in the top of the ninth on a Max Soliz Jr. (Auburn) RBI single to bring the lead back down to one. With the tying run on second base Jase Schueller (Vanguard) got Jake Berkland (Minnesota State – Mankato) to ground out to end the ballgame.
Buss earned the win for the Mallards on the mound, his first of the season. Jacob Haley (South Alabama) was charged with the loss for the Woodchucks, while Schueller picked up his second save of the season.
The Mallards and Woodchucks will face off again in Wausau on Monday night at 6:05 p.m. The next home game for the Mallards at Warner Park will be on Wednesday night against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, with first pitch for that game scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
