Royal Oak was not able to take advantage of enough opportunities on Monday night to hang around for long with a team of the caliber of Madison, as the Mallards defeated the Leprechauns by the score of 10-3 on Monday night.
The Leprechauns were able to get at least one man on the base paths in seven of the game’s nine innings, but Royal Oak only scored during the team’s three-run fifth. In total, the team left 12 runners on base and twice the team saw an inning end due to a runner getting picked off by Madison catcher Nate Voss.
Following that three-run inning that included an RBI double by Chase Van Ameyde (Notre Dame) and a two-RBI single by Devan Zirwas (Eastern Michigan), the Leprechauns actually led 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth. The reason Royal Oak was initially in position to make the game competitive was because of starting pitcher Grant Bradley (Michigan), who provided four innings of four-hit, one-run ball.
Van Ameyde had three hits on the day, his second multi-hit game as a Leprechaun and his first three-hit day.
Ryan Tyranski (Cincinnati) also stayed hot, going 2-for-5 with a stolen base. His batting average currently sits at .464, which is the second-best mark among qualified hitters in the entire Great Lakes Division at the time that this article is being written. He also has scored 10 times, which is tied for second in the entire Northwoods League. Tyranski has now gotten exactly two hits in four consecutive games.
Royal Oak’s bullpen was unable to hold off the Madison batting order, though. The Mallards scored nine total runs in the four innings it had against the Leprechauns bullpen pitchers. In that fifth inning, Madison scored four runs despite initially having the bases empty with two outs. The home squad faced the same scenario in the seventh inning and still managed to plate another run. In the eighth, Madison also plated another four runs to reach double digits and essentially push the game for Royal Oak out of reach.
The Leprechauns now drop to 4-3 and have four games remaining on this all-Wisconsin road trip. Royal Oak will shift its focus to a two-day, two-game series against the Wausau Woodchucks on Tuesday and Wednesday, with first pitch times for both days set for 6:05 p.m. CT or 7:05 p.m. ET. Both of those games can be streamed for free on NWL+. Following that, the Leprechauns will face the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters twice prior to returning home.
Royal Oak’s next home game is set for Saturday, June 7 at 6:35 p.m. ET against the Rockford Rivets. Tickets to any Leprechauns home game this season can be purchased HERE.
See the game’s full box score HERE.
