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Northwoods Madison Mallards

Mallards Snap Skid, Manager Earns 400th Win

July 26, 2022 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Madison Mallards News Release


Wausau, WI - The Mallards opened a home-and-home series with a 9-7 victory against the Wausau Woodchucks on Monday night from Athletic Park in Wausau to snap a seven-game losing streak. Donnie Scott's crew had yet to win at Athletic Park this season after being dominated in their first three matchups in Wausau.

Since the All-Star break, Madison has been good at jumping on the opposition early. They scored first for the fourth time in five games since the pause in the top of the 4th inning on a solo home run from first baseman Chad McCann (2-5, 2 RBI) off Woodchucks' starter Dawson Lane. McCann now has multi-hit games in four of his last six. The Ducks wasted no time extending their lead in the top of the 5th against Lane. Three straight one-out singles scored one run and put two runners in scoring position for Josh Caron (2-4, 3 RBI). The Mallards catcher smoked a line drive to left field which scored both Noah Smith (3-3, 2 R, BB) and Jack Merrifield (2-4, 2 R). The three-run 5th inning gave Madison' starter Joel Barker a cushion in his second start of the year. Wausau's scoring got started in the bottom of the 6th inning when Nik Levensteins launched his fourth blast of the year, chopping the lead to two. Following the homer, Barker (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 K) was taken out of the game and the Mallards called on right hander Chris Byhre. The first three batters against Byhre reached to load the bases. The Woodchucks were gifted two more runs in the inning on a wild pitch and a passed ball to tie the game at 4-4.

The fight that Madison had immediately after the four-run frame was promising to see after the disappointing last two weeks. Wausau turned to Aaron Evers in the top of the 7th and after drawing a ground ball out, Evers handed out two free passes and Woodchucks' Manager Corey Thompson handed the ball to Korey Bunselmeyer. The new arm hit Merrifield to load the bases for Liam Moreno. The Sun Prairie native chopped a grounder toward the third baseman Garret Hill. The throw home escaped Chucks' catcher Camden Janik and ricocheted around the backstop while two runs scored. The reigns were then turned back to Caron. With two runners aboard, Caron shot a line drive down the left-field line that grazed the final piece of white-painted grass to drop in for a double. Two more runs would score in the inning to give the Mallards a five-run lead, 9-4.

Chris Byhre began the bottom of the 7th on the mound after the stretch. Chase Hug and Ryan Sepede both reached with one out before Levensteins sliced a single to right which marked the final batter of the game for Byhre. The Ducks then put Blake Lemmon on the mound and he struggled finding the strike zone. Two walks and two wild pitches loaded the bases and brought the game within two. Lemmon exited and Trent Hodgdon entered. That brought a matchup between collegiate teammates at West Virginia, Hodgdon and tomorrow's starting pitcher for Wausau, Ben Abernathy. A ten pitch at bat ended with Hodgdon striking out the fellow native of Alabama to keep the score 9-7.

The contest continued to swing back-and-forth but neither team was able to put a run on the board. Mallards' All-Star reliever Steven Lacey notched his fourth save of the season while striking out the final two batters of the game, representing the tying runs after a one-out single. The near four hour contest ended with the Mallards congratulating their manager and catcher Josh Caron handing Scott the ball from Lacey's final out. Scott was a major league catcher before his lengthy coaching career and developed a special bond with his backstops.

Madison wraps up their home-and-home series with Wausau tomorrow from Warner Park at 6:35 PM. Game coverage can be found on the Northwoods League website under the 'Live Action' tab with pregame beginning at 6:10 PM.



Northwoods League Stories from July 26, 2022


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