{"id":13309,"date":"2018-07-28T21:21:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T02:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/madison-mallards\/?p=13309"},"modified":"2018-09-16T20:41:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T01:41:24","slug":"kalamazoo-steals-5-3-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/madison-mallards\/2018\/07\/28\/kalamazoo-steals-5-3-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Kalamazoo Steals 5-3 Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kalamazoo Steals 5-3 Victory<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Growlers score three in the ninth to escape with the win<\/em><\/p>\n

Madison, Wis. \u2013 \u00a0The Kalamazoo Growlers (12-10, 36-21) came back to defeat the Madison Mallards (11-10. 39-18), 5-3 at Warner Park on Saturday night. The Mallards held a 3-2 lead going into the ninth inning after a Tyler Plantier <\/strong>(Richmond) go-ahead solo shot but the Kalamazoo offense rallied in the ninth, tallying three runs to grab the victory from the Mallards.<\/p>\n

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Mallards starter Cole O\u2019Connor<\/strong>was fooling Kalamazoo hitters all evening, striking out five over 5.0 innings while allowing four hits and zero runs. O\u2019Connor received run support in the second inning on an Andrew Baker <\/strong>(Florida) RBI double and a Kalamazoo fielding error. With the Mallards leading 2-0, reliever Jonah Smith <\/strong>(Creighton) relieved O\u2019Connor to start the sixth inning and worked a pair of efficient innings. Smith faced the minimum, tossing 2.0 frames while allowing zero hits and striking out one. The duo did not allow a single Kalamazoo batter to reach second base during the game\u2019s first seven frames.<\/p>\n

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Turning Point<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

After Kalamazoo tied the game at two with a two-run bomb in the top of the eighth inning, Madison responded with some power of its own in the bottom half of the frame. Tyler Plantier <\/strong>demolished a solo shot over the leftfield fence to give the Mallards a 3-2 lead. The homer was Plantier\u2019s 13th<\/sup>of the season.<\/p>\n

With the Mallards leading by a run and closer Trace Norkus <\/strong>(North Florida) entering the ballgame, the Mallards needed three outs to seal the win. Norkus struck out leadoff man Sam Hall but the breaking ball in the dirt got to the backstop, allowing Hall to reach on the wild pitch. Kalamazoo continued the rally with a double and a two-run single that gave the Growlers a 4-3 advantage. Kalamazoo tacked on another run on a sac fly to extend their lead to 5-3.<\/p>\n

The Mallards threatened in the bottom of the ninth as Garrett Kueber <\/strong>(Austin Peay) ripped a one-out single but Kalamazoo reliever Mason Shinabery sealed the Kalamazoo victory with a strikeout.<\/p>\n

Top Mallards <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n