Wednesday night, the Montgomery Mallards traveled to Elko's Fredrickson Field for a Dakota Rice Scott League matchup against the Express. A five-run explosion in the top of the sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Matt Smith, propelled the Mallards to a 10-5 victory, improving the team's record to 6-6 on the season.
Four pitchers, Jack Barnett, Kyle Hintz, Nolan Readmond and Brandon Gentz, took the mound for Montgomery with Hintz earning the victory.
The Mallards got on the board in the top of the first inning when they loaded the bases with a pair of singles from Dawson Pint and Ryan Iverson as well as a HBP absorbed by Pat Lloyd. Despite the next at-bat resulting in a 6-4-3 double play, Pint was able to reach home to put the Mallards up 1-0.
Elko would respond with three runs in the bottom of the first and another run in the second inning, but in the fourth, Montgomery got the offense rolling once more. Pint and Max Krautkremer led off with back-to-back singles before Aaron Dwyer drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.
A fielder's choice to shortstop allowed Pint to score before Jack Barnett drilled a two-run single to center field, tying the game 4-4. An error in the bottom of the fourth allowed the Express to retake the lead 5-4 but in the top of the sixth, clutch hitting came through for the Mallards.
With two-outs and Dwyer on first, Pint reached first on a slow rolling grounder to first and the next at-bat saw Lloyd rip a line drive single to left. The Dwyer was given the go to round third and head for home and the throw from the outfield came in hot, but Dwyer was able to make it home safely, tying the game 5-5.
Ben Anderson put Montgomery up with an RBI single to centerfield before Matt Smith's three-run homer soared over the center field fence to push the lead to 9-5. The Mallards added another run in the top of the eighth with Anderson blasted a solo home run over the left field fence. Elko managed to put a pair of baserunners on in the bottom of the eighth but both were stranded and the Express went down in order in the ninth, securing the win for the Mallards.
Friday's scheduled contest with Prior Lake was rained out, meaning the next game for Montgomery is scheduled for Sunday, June 23, when the team travels to Shakopee for a league showdown against the Coyotes. The next home game for the Mallards is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26, when they host the Veseli Warriors in a makeup game from an earlier rainout. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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