Already named the Northwoods League Manager of the Decade, Darrell Handelsman added to the record books tonight, picking up his NWL record 300th career victory as the Madison Mallards defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 4-1 Saturday night at Warner Park. It seems fitting that the man called ?Skip? picked up the victory in front of a standing ovation consisting of 7,492 indebted fans on fan appreciation night, the second largest crowd in team history.
Mark Moriarty earned his second victory of the season, allowing only one hit while striking out five in five innings, maintaining his perfect 0.00 ERA this season. Tony Korson and Mike Creevy combined to pitch the sixth through eighth innings, keeping the Woodchucks scoreless until the ninth. Mike Dury pitched the ninth, allowing only a solo home run before getting the final batter to ground out to short to seal Handelsman?s 300th win.
The Mallards got on the board early as Greg Thomson who went 3-4 on the night, scored a first inning run off a Ryan Rogowski ground out. Abe Aguirre put the game out of reach with a two run double in the bottom of the seventh inning, putting the Mallards on top 4-0. The Mallards finished their home portion of the regular season with a 25-7 mark, the best record in the league. In 2004, the Mallards drew a team and NWL record 171,390 fans, averaging 5,529 fans per game.
The Mallards finish the regular season with a two game series in Alexandria beginning Sunday afternoon. The run toward a 2004 Northwoods League Championship begins Tuesday, as the Mallards take on the first-half champion La Crosse Loggers at Warner Park starting at 7:05 PM.
Mallards? playoff tickets are currently available. Four-game playoff ticket packages can be purchased online at www.mallardsbaseball.com, by phone: (608) 246-4277, or by stopping in our office located at 2920 N. Sherman Ave., until 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 6th. The reserved seat package costs twenty-eight dollars, and bleacher reserved costs twenty-six dollars. Single-game playoff tickets go on sale starting on Sat., Aug. 7th, at 10 a.m. Reserved tickets cost seven dollars, bleacher reserved tickets cost six dollars and fifty cents, and general admission tickets cost six dollars. Playoff tickets are refundable.
