Madison, Wis. (July 23) – The Madison Mallards (13-7, 33-22) opened the post-All-Star Game portion of their 2015 regular-season schedule as winners of an exhilarating 5-4 contest over the La Crosse Loggers (13-9, 32-24) Thursday night at the Duck Pond. Jean Ramirez (Illinois State) provided a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to hoist the Mallards to a comeback Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison ‘Big Win’ of the Night, which propelled manager Donnie Scott and company into a tie with the Green Bay Bullfrogs (11-9, 33-22) for second place overall in the South Division standings.
The Mallards began the night on a positive note, notching a run in the bottom of the first courtesy of Scott Tyler’s (Ball State) double to score Logan Regnier (Central Michigan), giving the Mallards an early 1-0 advantage. La Crosse responded with a two-run top of the second inning brought about by an error and a run-producing ground out by Loggers third baseman Chris Baker (Washington), however, which allowed for La Crosse to capture its first lead of the affair. Tacking on an insurance run in the top of the fourth, the Loggers extended their lead to 3-1 after four frames.
Madison’s bats awoke in the bottom of the fifth, narrowing La Crosse’s lead to 3-2 via Regnier coming around to score on a fielding error. A scoreless inning for both clubs ensued in the sixth, after which La Crosse followed with one run in the top of the seventh as Mason McCoy (Central Illinois College) touched home on Brock Lindquist’s (Long Beach State) RBI single. The Mallards produced a run in the bottom of the eighth to narrow its deficit to a run heading to the ninth, an inning that dramatically concluded with Ramirez’s two-run single to score Regnier and Tony Butler (Madison College).
With their victory behind them, the Mallards will direct their attention toward Friday’s series finale with the Loggers, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Duck Pond. Friday’s game will feature The Great Dane Mohawk Man Bobblemohawk Giveaway, including a Wisconsin Cheese Curdfest preview at the stadium that will showcase some of the curds that will be available at Curdfest at the Duck Pond on Sunday, July 26. 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.
