Madison, Wis. (June 18) – The Madison Mallards (12-11) captured a series sweep of the Kalamazoo Growlers (6-18) behind a comeback effort Thursday night at Homer Stryker Field, plating four runs between the seventh and eighth innings in route to a crucial 7-4 victory.
With the Ho-Chunk Gaming ‘Big Win’ of the Night, the Mallards concluded their season-long six-game road swing above the .500 mark and tied for second place in the Northwoods League’s South Division.
Dalton D’Spain (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) hit an early rough patch to begin his fourth start of the season for Madison, ceding a pair of earned runs to Kalamazoo in the bottom of the first frame. The Growlers promptly added two more earned runs in the bottom of the third, the final inning of the night for D’Spain, who lasted just 2.2 frames with three walks and no strikeouts. The Mallards faced a 4-0 deficit heading into the top of the fourth.
But Brian Rodemoyer’s (Illinois State) home run in the top of the fourth – a blast that trimmed Kalamazoo’s lead to 4-1 – shifted momentum. The Mallards followed suit with three hits and two runs scored in the top of the fifth inning courtesy of run-scoring singles by Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s College) and Mikey Diekroeger (Stanford), giving Madison its first lead of the night. Three runs in the seventh and another in the eighth put the game out of reach for the Growlers.
The Mallards benefitted from sterling production from Scott Moss (Florida) and Corbin Olmstead (North Florida) out of the bullpen Thursday night. Moss allowed just one hit and fanned four hitters across 2.1 shutout innings of relief for D’Spain, while Olmstead ran his scoreless innings streak to seven with four solid frames of work – he, too, struck out four hitters and allowed no runs – against what had previously been a hot-swinging Growlers lineup earlier in the game.
With their key victory behind them, The Mallards will turn their collective attention toward the opener of a two-game home series with the Kenosha Kingfish, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Friday at the Duck Pond. Friday will be Valpak Great Outdoors Night at the Duck Pond, featuring a Pespi Outdoorsman Maynard Bobblehead Giveaway presented by WKOW TV. For tickets, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit MallardsBaseball.com.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com.
