Madison, Wis. – The Green Bay Rockers (14-12) came up short in two-ish games against the Madison Mallards (20-8) Friday at Warner Park. The first game (which was a continuation of yesterday’s game at Capital Credit Union Park) was a 13-10 loss and the second was a 11-5 defeat.
The common thread between both of the clashes was high-powered offense. In today’s half of game one, three Rockers hit home runs, including Nick Harms (Case Western Reserve), who hit a homer in Green Bay last night as well.
No Rocker has ever had more than eight home runs in a season, which also puts Harms in elite company as his two against Madison gave him nine on the campaign.
Jake Bold (Princeton) also launched a long-ball in game one, which made him the first Rocker ever to record double-digit bombs in a single season.
Not far behind Bold and Harms is Sam Miller, who cranked his eighth home run of the summer in the first game against Madison too.
Ultimately, however, the Rockers’ power-hitting wasn’t enough to withstand a late flurry from the Mallards, which scored seven in the top of the ninth with help from a Shai Robinson (Illinois State) grand slam.
The theme of home runs bled into the second game between the two teams. In the very first at bat of that tilt, Makani Tanaka (Oral Roberts) went yard for the fourth time in just 16 games with Green Bay. Then in the fifth inning, Lane Allen (Blinn College) followed suit with a two-run blast to put the Rockers up 5-4
Once again, though, the Mallards offense was matching every Green Bay rally, and ended up pulling away with seven unanswered from that point forward. Four different Madison players hit a home run in game two.
Following today’s results, the Rockers are 5.0 games back of the Mallards for first place in the division with eight games to go. While Green Bay certainly needs some help to make the playoffs, it will try to control what it can over that stretch.
The Rockers look to rebound at home over the next three days, starting with a game against the Rafters at 3:05 p.m. Saturday. Green Bay and Wisconsin Rapids have split their eight matchups this summer evenly, and tomorrow’s is the first of four more between the teams to end the season.
Gates open at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, and that is when 7000 Apart will begin playing live music (through the end of the third inning). The contest is also “Educator’s last fling before the bell rings,” which means Bud Light Party Patio tickets are just $25 for all educators.
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