After a ten hour bus trip to Canada over Monday night into Tuesday morning, the Madison Mallards were able to eke out a Mallards-type win Tuesday night with a 4-3 victory over the Border Cats at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Mallards starter Eryk McConnell allowed a pair of runs to the Border Cats in the second inning. Three singles with one out loaded the bases for McConnell’s North Carolina State teammate, Drew Martin. Martin singled to right to score two and give the Border Cats the lead.
After accumulating just three hits through the first six innings, the Mallards started moving in the seventh against Border Cats starter Brad Simmons. Ryan Bond led off with a single. Spencer Steedley (pictured below) reached on a bunt single to put runners at first and second. Mike Rohde’s bunt down the third base line was thrown away by Martin, allowing Bond to score and put runners at second and third. Steedley scored on a sacrifice fly by Mitch Saum to knot the game at two.
The Border Cats reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Mallards pitcher Adam Tollefson, in his debut, walked Gabe Marchant on four pitches. Marchant stole second, moved to third on a Martin single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Oney Guillen to make the score 3-2.
Tha Mallards tied it again in the eighth. Bobby Hubbard doubled down the first base line. He moved to third on a sacrifice by Gary Arndt then scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-3.
Madison won the game with a run in the ninth. Steedley led off with a single. He moved to second on a bunt by Rohde. With Mitch Saum at the plate, Steedley stole third. The throw from the catcher was on the foul side of the bag and went into the outfield, allowing Steedley to score the winning run.
McConnell pitched six innings for Madison. Mike Creevy earned the win, to improve to 4-0, with two innings of relief. Brett Scarpetta picked up his fourth save.
The Mallards improved to 11-14 with the victory. The same teams will meet again Wednesday night at Port Arthur Stadium. You’ll hear the game on Madison’s Fox Sports Radio, 100.5 FM, or online at www.mallardsbaseball.com. Pregame coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. with the first pitch at 6:05.
The Mallards return home Thursday, June 29, to take on the Brainerd Blue Thunder. It will be Pepsi Baseball Glove Night. The first 1,000 fans 14 and under will receive baseball gloves courtesy of Pepsi.
Great seats are still available for Thursday, Friday and Saturday?s games. Order yours today by visiting www.mallardsbaseball.com, calling 246.4277 or stop by the Duck Pond.
