Northwoods Madison Mallards

Woodchucks Get Timely Hits in Win Over Mallards

June 8, 2011 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Madison Mallards News Release


MADISON, WI - June 7, 2011. The Wisconsin Woodchucks up-ended the Mallards in the team's home opener at the new "Duck Pond" Tuesday night 7-6 in front of 6,511 fans. The game was the first Northwoods League contest played at the newly-renovated $1.8 million ballpark.

The game was back-and-forth, but timely hitting led the way for Wisconsin. Shain Stoner (Point Loma Nazarene) was the thorn in the Mallards' side going 4-4 with a home run and three singles. His bomb in the seventh inning plated three runs and gave him four RBI for the night. All of Stoner's at-bats came with two outs.

"Stoner got us tonight," said Mallards' field manager Greg Labbe. "In baseball, the difference is that the team that has the most hits with two outs usually wins the game. We couldn't finish them off, and we paid the price by losing."

Also leading the way for the Woodchucks was Carlos Escobar (Nevada-Reno) who had two doubles and a run batted in, and Austin Coleman (Cal-State San Marcos) who also tallied multiple hits.

All-in-all, Wisconsin had eleven hits.

Leading the way for the Mallards were Justin Scanlon (Michigan State) and Travis Parker (St. Louis). The two infielders almost had identical lines by going 3-5 with a double, with the only difference being Scanlon's two RBI compared to Jones' one.

Niko Fraser (Elon), Nate Theunissen (Central Michigan), and Jumpy Garcia (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) all contributed nicely with multiple-hit games. Garcia provided the biggest offensive thrill of the night by hitting his second home run of the season back in the fourth inning.

"Our offense was just as good as Wisconsin's," said Labbe. "Guys did well up and down the lineuo. We also had timely hits and swung the bats well. It came down to defensive plays and we missed a few of those."

The Mallards out-hit Wisconsin 14-11.

Earning the win for the Woodchucks was shortstop turned pitcher Garret Yrigoyen (Nevada-Reno). In his first appearance of the season, Yrigoyen (1-0) went three innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walked one and struck out three. His pitching performance came after the Mallards chased starter Jordan Luvisi (Pepperdine) after four innings.

Pitching a scoreless, yet entertaining ninth inning was Carlos Escobar (Nevada-Reno) to earn his first save.

Nick Sutherland (Minnesota State-Mankato) took the loss for the Mallards. Sutherland is now 0-1 after allowing four runs to cross the plate through innings six, seven, and eight.

Mallards' starter Rusty Shellhorn (Texas Tech) went five innings and gave up three runs, albeit two earned.

By the NumbersThree players listed as position players on the Woodchucks' roster came in to pitch Tuesday. Yrigoyen (infielder) and Stoner (infielder) started the game as Wisconsin's duo up the middle defensively. Escobar (catcher) started the game behind the plate.

Coleman, Escobar, and Stoner had eight of the eleven hits for the Woodchucks.

Wisconsin's run in the first inning was the first time all season that the Mallards failed to score first.

The 6,511 people in attendance is the biggest crowd to see a Northwoods League game this season, replacing the old season-high by over 2,500 spectators which happened in a contest in La Crosse versus the Mallards against 3,837.

Up Next at the "Duck Pond"The Mallards will continue their four-game homestand tomorrow night against the Woodchucks. It is "Charter Communications and Chet's Car Care Magnet Schedule Night" where all fans in attendance will receive a 2011 Mallards season schedule magnet.

It will also be "Rayovac Powers Your Fun Night" and the first 1,000 fans will receive batteries compliments of Rayovac.

After the game, human cannonball Dave "The Bullet" Smith, Jr. will perform.

The Madison Mallards are members of the 16-team summer collegiate Northwoods League. Single-game tickets for the 2011 season are now on sale! Fans can purchase tickets one of three ways: 1) online by clicking here, 2) over the phone by calling the ticket office at 608.316.DUCK (3825), or 3) in-person at the "Duck Pond" weekdays 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. & 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday's. Group tickets, including hospitality areas perfect for company outings are on sale as well.



Northwoods League Stories from June 8, 2011


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