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Northwoods Madison Mallards

Cheese Curds Squeak Past Chinooks with Walk-Off Single

July 18, 2019 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Madison Mallards News Release


MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Cheese Curds (32-17) defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks (21-28) with a walk-off RBI single from Austin Blazevic (Southeast Missouri) in the bottom of the tenth. This marks the team's second consecutive walk-off in Cheese Curd uniforms.

The bats for both teams were silent until the top of the fourth, as Jake Thompson (Kentucky) slammed a solo home run to put Lakeshore on the scoreboard 1-0. An RBI double from Griffin Doersching (Northern Kentucky) extended the lead 2-0. Following the trend, back-to-back RBIs from Jake Artz (St. Joseph) and Cole Barr (Indiana) gave the Chinooks a whopping 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the inning.

Making a dent in the lead, the Cheese Curds scored their first run off an RBI single by Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina). Bigbie has recorded a hit in 28 straight games, making it the second-longest hitting streak in Northwoods League History. The first belongs to Luis Rivera with 32, who played for the Waterloo Bucks in 1995.

Bigbie continued to dominate in the bottom of the fifth inning. After hammering the ball into the Great Dane Duck Blind Suites with the bases loaded for a grand slam, the Cheese Curds took a 6-4 lead.

The Chinooks responded in the top of the sixth, tying the game at six off back-to-back RBI doubles from Barr and Daryl Myers (Benedictine College).

A wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh brought EJ Ranel (Lenior-Rhyne) home take the lead by one, 7-6. Evening the score once again in the eighth, the Chinooks scored their eighth run of the night off a solo home run by Ronnie Sweeny III (Iowa Western) to make the game 7-7.

Unable to come up with any runs in the ninth, the game headed into extra innings. Three quick outs in the top of the tenth gave the Cheese Curds a chance to grab another come-from-behind win.

Blazevic stepped up to the plate with the winning run on base and became the hero after driving the ball to right field for an RBI single. Wisconsin defeated Lakeshore 8-7 to grasp their 32nd victory of the summer.

The loss was handed to the Chinooks final arm on the mound, Troy Black (Faulkner), as he gave up the single that won the game.

The victory was awarded to Theo Denlinger (Bradley) because he was the last pitcher on the mound for Wisconsin, before they snatched the victory.

Turning Point

Bigbie crushed the ball in the fourth inning for a grand slam to give the Cheese Curds their first lead. The lead changed four times throughout the game.

Top Cheese Curds

- Blazevic was named Impact Player of the Night after hitting an RBI single to win the game.

- Bigbie extended his hitting streak to 28 games and hit his third grand slam of the summer.

- Denlinger picked up his second win of the season. He powered through two innings, earning four strikeouts.

Up Next

The two teams are back at Warner Park tomorrow to close out the series. Tomorrow night is The Lion King Night presented by Marcus Theatres. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., gates will open at 5:35 p.m. Hear every pitch of the 2019 Mallards' season live on The Zone, 96.7 FM and 1670 AM.



Northwoods League Stories from July 18, 2019


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