Northwoods Madison Mallards

Mallards earn first home victory of 2011

Published on June 10, 2011 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Madison Mallards News Release


MADISON, WI - The Madison Mallards won their first game at home this season in three tries on Friday night, defeating the Waterloo Bucks 7-2 in front of a capacity crowd of 6,750 fans at the "Duck Pond."

Not only was the game a sellout, it also featured renowned supergroup "The Baseball Project." The band played original songs about America's pastime, with topics including Satchel Paige, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson and more.

Madison's own "Hometown Sweethearts" also provided in-game musical entertainment, which will be a staple at all of the Mallards' Friday night home games.

The game was just as entertaining as the music on Friday. The Bucks were able to continue their stifling of the Mallards' hitters through the third inning, but once the Ducks tallied their first hit in the fourth, the bats got going and the team did not look back from there.

"There's no doubt that their pitcher was dealing tonight," said Mallards' hitting coach Luis Raffan. "But after the third, he started leaving pitches up and missing his spots, and our guys took advantage of that."

The Mallards scored four runs in the sixth inning, including two on a home run hit by Tyler Jones (Long Island), his first of the season. The team scored again in the seventh and capped off the night with a two-run blast by Nate Theunissen (Central Michigan) in the eighth.

Also contributing offensively for the Ducks on Friday were Justin Scanlon (Michigan State), Justin Parr (Illinois), and Jay Golden (Blackhawk College). All three players had two hits. Scanlon drove in one run and Parr drove in two one night after making his Mallards' debut.

"It's nice to get a number of guys contributing offensively, especially after the little slump we've been in," Raffan said. "We finally got two-out hits that were huge, and we used momentum from the four-run sixth to carry us through the game."

Starter Cash Collins (Wofford) was lights out yet again for Madison. Collins (2-0) went 6.2 innings giving up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out four Bucks hitters in the victory.

"Cash wasn't as dominant as he was in his first start," said field manager Greg Labbe. "But he used his experience and confidence to get out of jams. He was cool and collected out there, and that's the kind of mentality that this team needs."

Collins pitched out of a no-out, bases loaded jam in the first inning by striking out a batter and inducing a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.

"It's innings like the first that show people why we go after the kind of players we do," Labbe said. "Sure, you could stock-pile underclassmen, but having upperclassmen like Cash with the experience and knowledge to know what it takes to win is vital to be successful in this league."

Matt Milroy (Illinois) and Zach White (Wake Forest) both came on in relief. Milroy saw his first action of the Northwoods League season after reporting to the club on Thursday. He was solid, going 1.1 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out three. White, in his typical role, pitched the ninth inning although his appearance was a non-save opportunity. White gave up one run on two hits and struck out two.

Chase Stevens (Seminole State Community College) took the loss for the Bucks. Stevens (1-1) pitched six innings and gave up four earned runs in the defeat.

Leading the way offensively for Waterloo was Jordan Adams (Central Michigan). Adams hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his second in as many nights. The homer gave the Bucks the lead at the time.

Sebastian Grazziani (New York Tech) and Cameron Perkins (Purdue) both had multiple hits.

Up next for the Mallards will be a three-game series on the road against the Battle Creek Bombers. Battle Creek lost on Friday night, but has a 7-3 record, which is tops in the North Division of the Northwoods League. Madison is one-half game behind the Bombers in the standings.

The Mallards' next home game is June 14th in a 7:05 p.m. start against Eau Claire.

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