Wausau, WIS – The Wisconsin Woodchucks used a big third inning to defeat the first place Madison Mallards 7-3 Friday night at Athletic Park.
Five runs, all with two outs, came across in the third to give the Woodchucks a 6-0 lead. Cooper Swanson brought in two runners with his double to left field, advancing Javier Valdes, and Nick Loftin to home plate. Later in the same inning, Swanson stole 3rd base and scored off of TJ Raguse’s single to left field.
Madison tried for a comeback in the fourth inning, scoring 3 runs, but were held at that for the rest of the game. The Woodchucks got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning when Jaren Shelby scored on a sacrifice fly from Valdes.
Starter Jake Gross went four innings for the Chucks, giving up three runs (two earned) and striking out three. Drew Holweger got the win by pitching two scoreless innings of relief. Everett Hurst shut the Mallards down in the seventh and eighth, and Lenny Gwizdala closed the door in the ninth.
Top Performers
Raguse went 2-2 at the plate and Michael Fernandez was 2-3. Valdes had 3 RBI and Swanson crossed the plate twice.
The Woodchuck bullpen was stellar, throwing five innings of shutout relief.
Next Up:
The Woodchucks remain home as they take on the Lakeshore Chinooks tomorrow night. Also enjoy Saturday night with Trigs’s post-game fireworks.. For tickets, call us at 715.845.5055, stop by our front office, or visit woodchucks.com.
