Published On: February 2nd, 2016

 

Rortvedt and Butler Added to 2016 Roster

The Madison Mallards have announced the addition of two local stars, Ben Rortvedt (Verona Area High School) and Tony Butler (Indiana University) will be playing at the Duck Pond this summer.

Rortvedt, a 5’10”, 190-lb catcher is a senior at Verona Area High School.  He will begin playing at the collegiate level in the spring of 2017 at the University of Arkansas.

Rortvedt is ranked the nineth-best player and number two catcher in the nation by Prep Baseball Report.  He is ranked number twenty overall and number two catcher by Perfect Game.  Additionally, he is ranked the number one player in Wisconsin by both Prep Baseball Report and Perfect Game.

Rortvedt was selected a 2015 Perfect Game Underclassmen First Team All-American.  He played in the 2015 USA Baseball Tournament of Stars and went 8-for-16 including three doubles and a triple.  Rortvedt was selected to the 2015 USA Baseball 18U National Team Trials roster.  In his junior year, he hit .468, earning himself First Team Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-State honors.  He will become the first high school player in the history of the Mallards.

Butler, a 6’1”, 195-lb infielder from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, returns for his third and final season with the Mallards this summer.  In 2015, Butler posted a .242 batting average in 54 games with the Mallards.  Butler was lockdown in the infield with his versatility and impressive .949 fielding percentage.  In his 2014 summer with the Mallards, Butler played 26 games with a .272 batting average and 16 RBIs.

Butler will begin his first season with the Hoosiers in 2016.  The junior transferred from Madison College this past year. Butler started his college career with the University of Virginia in 2014.  He made nine appearances with one start for the Cavaliers, who finished as the runner-up in the 2014 College World Series.

As a junior at Sun Prairie High School in 2012, Butler was named First-Team All-State.  During that year, Butler set single season records for batting average (.521), hits (49), runs-scored (43), singles (34), and OBP (.638). Butler missed his senior season due to injury.

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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com

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