Mallards Sweep Rafters in Double-Header
Pair of extra inning contests goes in favor of Madison
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – A double-header featuring two seven inning contests turned into 18 innings of baseball on Thursday evening and into early Friday morning from Witter Field. Madison earned the win in game one, 4-3 in ten innings and added the win in the second game, 12-9 in eight.
Game one of the double-header went ten innings, with Madison prevailing 4-3. Jeffery Mitchell Jr. knocked in two runs to lead the visitors who scored two runs in the tenth to win the contest. Dom Savino earned the victory for Madison, tossing 3.2 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Madison opened the scoring in the first, scoring two runs on three hits. A Jake Snider single and a Doran Turchin double drove in the runs for the Mallards to jump ahead 2-0 early.
The Rafters answered back with two of their own to even the game at two. Wyatt Mascerella drove in his first run as a Rafter in the second with a two out single to score Jake Guenther. Christian Jones used the long ball to tie the game, sending a moon shot over the fence in left in the fourth.
The game remained tied into the 10th inning, when Madison hung two runs on the board to go ahead in extras. A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases with one out for Jeffery Mitchell Jr. who delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to score Jake Snider and break the tie. A failed pick-off attempt at third by the catcher plated the second run in the frame for the Mallards to take a 4-2 lead.
The Rafters answered with one run in the home half of the 10th on a Jake Guenther home run but were unable to tie or go-ahead and dropped game 1 of the double header, 4-3.
In game two, the Mallards jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Wisconsin Rapids stormed back to lead 9-6 entering the seventh. Madison scored three runs each in the seventh and eighth to put away the Rafters and sweep the twin bill. Doran Turchin hit a three-run home run in the eighth that would result in the winning runs. Bryson Stott led the way for Wisconsin Rapids, going 3-4 from the plate with 3 RBIs.
The Mallards opened the scoring with a big inning in the fourth, bringing eleven batters to plate and scoring six runs on five hits. The inning was capped off by a Cole Daily two RBI single to vault Madison to a 6-0 lead.
The Rafters stranded the bases loaded in the fifth, but were able to push two runs across to shorten the gap to 6-2. Both runs were scored with two outs, with an RBI single from Bryson Stott and a Dustin Woodcock walk with the bases loaded.
Wisconsin Rapids stormed back to take the lead in the sixth, scoring seven runs to take a 9-6 lead into the final frame. The inning was highlighted by RBI hits from Stott, Woodcock, Ryan Stekl, Guenther and Charlie McConnell. The Rafters brought 12 batters to the plate to come back and secure the lead.
Madison would bring two runs across on an Angel Camacho double in the seventh with the bases loaded and no outs, but the tying run was gunned down at the plate on a perfect relay from left field. Thomas Smart came through clutch with two outs for the Mallards, driving in the tying run on a single up the middle.
The game headed to extras for the second game on the evening, and the Mallards jumped ahead in the home half of the eighth to force the Rafters to answer. Doran Turchin delivered the dagger with a three-run blast to put Madison up 12-9. The Rafters had the winning run at the plate, but could muster only one run in the eight, falling 12-10 in the second game.
Both teams square off in Madison on Friday. Action starts at 7:05 pm, with pregame starting at 6:50 pm on AM 1320 WFHR and WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network.
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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit http://northwoodsleague.com/wisconsin-rapids-rafters/ or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.
