Mallards pitcher Mike Creevy has been waiting for a long time to come back to Madison…nine months. That’s how much time has passed since the Mallards lost the best-of-three Northwoods League Championship series to the Thunder Bay Border Cats. “I’ve been looking forward to coming back since the day we left Canada,” said Creevy.

In his first full season with the Mallards, Creevy was awesome. In 30 appearances out of the bullpen, he recorded a 5-2 record and 1.79 ERA. In 45.1 innings, he struck out 37 and walked only seven. He actually appeared in two late season games in 2004, joining the Mallards after then-Xavier and Mallards teammate Jay Johnson mentioned him to the Mallards coaches.

Creevy said he gained a lot last summer. “I left with 100 percent confidence in all my pitches and velocity. I worked hard on throwing inside to right-handed hitters, too.”

Creevy spent this past season as a starting pitcher at Xavier and threw just over 100 innings. He’s anxious to continue as a reliever in Madison, though. “I’d rather start at school because you get more innings. In the summer, though, I like working out of the bullpen because there’s more games and more chances as compared to college.”

The right-hander says he wants to continue throwing inside. “My slider and curve usually break outside, so right-handed hitters dive over the plate. I need to keep them off balance.”

Creevy has been busy selling his summer experience to others at Xavier. His catcher at Xavier, Jordan Wolf, will join him in Madison. Another teammate, Bill Konecny, will play for Thunder Bay.

“The Northwoods League is awesome. You can’t get this experience anywhere else,” said Creevy. “Obviously, the fan support is great. The team is great, too: all the different characters, making friends with different guys and great baseball.”