Madison, WI- Jordy Lopez (University of California Berkeley) was the walk-off hero for the Madison Mallards (24-18), as they took down the Lakeshore Chinooks (18-26) 10-9 in extra innings on Tuesday night at Warner Park.
The Chinooks struck first with a solo homer off the bat of Brody Rasmussen (University of Maine). But the Mallards answered quickly in the second. Bayram Hot (University of Louisville) tied it up with a home run in his very first Northwoods League at-bat. On the next pitch, MJ Sweeney (Wichita State University) followed with a blast of his own, putting Madison ahead 2-1.
In the bottom of the third, Davis Hamilton (University of Minnesota) punched an RBI single through to make it 3-1. Sweeney followed with a double into the gap, plating two more to give Madison a 5-1 cushion.
The Chinooks came charging back in the fourth. Grant Gray (UCLA) laced a two-run double to make it 5-3, and Cade Sears (Iowa Central Community College) added an RBI single to pull Lakeshore within one. In the fifth, Broc Parmer (University of Texas San Antonio) drew a walk with the bases loaded to tie it up, and a costly error brought in two more to put the Chinooks ahead 7-5.
The Mallards pulled even in the fifth on sacrifice flies from Hot and Sweeney. They moved in front 9-7 in the sixth, capitalizing on a pair of defensive miscues by the Chinooks. That lead held until the eighth, when two Chinooks runners came home on a Mallards throwing error. In total, the game featured six combined errors in a rough night defensively for both sides.
Tied at nine in the tenth, the Chinooks threatened with the go-ahead run on third. But Eamonn Mulhern (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) came up big, inducing a lineout double play to end the inning. In the home half, Lopez wasted no time—he ripped a pitch down the right field line for a walk-off single, sealing a 10-9 win for Madison.
Mulhern earned his first win of the season on the mound for the Mallards in relief. Logan Schulfer (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) was charged with the loss for the Chinooks.
The Mallards will hit the road to face the Wausau Woodchucks on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Madison will return to Warner Park to face the Woodchucks on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
