Madison, Wis. (June 27) – Field manager Donnie Scott and the Madison Mallards (19-14) were defeated by the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (15-15) by a final score of 2-1 Saturday night at the Duck Pond. With their loss and victories by both Kenosha and Green Bay, the Mallards remained in sole possession of third place in the Northwoods League’s South Division with three games remaining in the season’s first half.
Nate Hoffmann (Middle Tennessee State) turned in his fourth quality start of the season in Saturday’s loss, tossing five innings in which he allowed one earned run on four hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Offensively, Madison was held to a 7-for-32 (.219) performance at the plate sans an extra-base hit against the Rafters, who benefitted from an impressive outing – 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K – from starting pitcher Jack Riley.
After a fast-paced first inning, Wisconsin Rapids tagged Hoffmann with his lone earned run courtesy of a run-producing single by Ryan Cleveland to score Brock Carpenter. Unfazed, Hoffmann went on to blank the Rafters across the subsequent three innings – lowering his season ERA to 2.25 – before giving way to Scott Moss (Florida), who tabbed 2.1 innings of relief in which he allowed one earned run on a pair of walks and three strikeouts.
Despite the strong performance from Hoffmann and Moss, the Mallards offense was unable to break through until the bottom of the eighth inning, a frame that saw Jean Ramirez (Illinois State) score on a two-out, line-drive single to center field from shortstop Tony Butler (Madison College). After a scoreless ninth frame from Vince Arobio (Pacific), Madison’s offense was unable to tab a hit against Rafters reliever Brian Bass, who recorded a save for his scoreless ninth inning.
With the loss behind them, Scott and the Mallards will turn their collective attention toward Sunday afternoon’s series finale with the Rafters, scheduled for 4:05 p.m. from Warner Park. Sunday will be Jockey Being Family Superhero Night at the Duck Pond, featuring a Firefighter Maynard Bobblehead Giveaway presented by Zimbrick Honda and WKOW TV. Kids 12 and under in costume will receive a free standing room only ticket. For tickets, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit www.MallardsBaseball.com for more information.
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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.
