THE DUCK POND ? With the playoffs now less than one week away, the Mallards are trying to do two things at once: keep guys healthy and build some momentum. Right now, the Ducks are doing both very well.

While resting some key guys, the Mallards were able to rattle off a 9-1 win in Mankato against the Moon Dogs and their ace, Will Krout. The Ducks pounded out 13 hits and were aided by 7 Moon Dogs errors as they won for the second straight night.

?Tonight?s game was good for our confidence,? said Mallards manager Darrell Handelsman. ?We are playing pretty well now that we are headed down the stretch.?

The Mallards have four games left on the regular season schedule before the playoffs begin on Sunday night at 5:05 in Wausau. Madison will host Game 2 of the Divisional Series on Monday, August 11 at 7:05pm.

?We are looking forward to the playoffs, but we still have some big games left to win,? explained Handelsman.

Skip is referring to the fact that Madison currently holds a one-game lead over St. Cloud for better overall record. This would come into play for home-field advantage if both teams would happen to make it to the Championship Series.

Tonight is the penultimate regular season home game for the Ducks, and there are a bevy of promotions. Tonight is Famous Footwear Team Poster/Baseball/and Soft Cooler Night. Everyone through the gates tonight will receive a Mallards team poster. Plus, the first 1,000 fans will get a soft cooler, and the first 500 kids 14 and under will receive a Mallards green and gold baseball.

Tonight is also a Charter Communications/Little-A-Merrick-A Family Four Pack Night presented by Newsradio 1310 WIBA and ESPN-1070. You get four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas, and two all-day passes to Little-A-Merrick-A for just $20.

The gates open at 5:45 with the first pitch at 7:05.