by Peter Geppert
With last night’s 9-3 Independence Day loss to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (16-18) the Mallards concluded an eventful first half that saw them show flashes of brilliance through the first 35 games of the season.
“The first half of the season was about as inconsistent as I had ever experienced,” Mallards hitting coach Jordan Comadena said. “There were times when we looked great and others times when we were down.”
Around the Northwoods League there is a renewed sense of optimism for teams to start anew and compete for a playoff berth. For the Mallards there is reason to be more optimistic than most, as the team played their first game with their full roster on July 1st. With the complete team beginning to assemble the Mallards showed serious signs of life at the end of the first half, winning four of their last five games.
“Now that we have all our guys we feel really good about where we are at for the start of the second half of the season,” Comadena added. “We are very confident in the talent we have assembled here.”
With the first half in the books lets take a look back and remember some of the highlights:
Take a Seat!
Mallards pitchers have been the sharpest in the Northwoods League this season, recording a collective 134 strikeouts. The team has gotten double-digit strikeout efforts three times this year, twice from starting pitcher Trevor Foss (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) and once from Alec Mills (UT-Martin) who has moved on to a career in minor league baseball.
Warning Shots
The Mallards hinted at a possible run at the second half South Division championship with a nice June 28th-June 30th series against the first half South Division champion La Crosse Loggers (26-9). Over three games the Mallards were able to win two games, with the only loss coming in the series opener on a walk-off single by Loggers catcher Tyler Servais (Princeton). The Mallards hammered the Loggers 18-4 to even up the series the following night, and took the rubber match of the series with an amazing three run comeback in the ninth inning off of Loggers closer Jonathon Van Eaton (Memphis) to win 9-8.
Half-Season MVP
Unquestionably the driving force behind the Mallards offense this season has been right fielder Tyler 
Marincov (North Florida). The right-hander has already tied the Mallards franchise record in home runs this season with nine, which also leads the Northwoods League entering today. He is third in the league in RBIs with 31 and is tied for fifth in batting average at .378. Most impressive of all is that he has been able to produce such gaudy numbers from the leadoff spot, a traditionally low production place in the lineup.
The Mallards continue their series with the Express tomorrow July 6th at the “Duck Pond”. That night will be the YP.com Quack Daddies Bobble Butt Giveaway and Stoddard’s Bratwurst Appreciation Night.
The 2012 season is upon us! Single-game tickets are on-sale for all Mallards home games!
The Madison Mallards are part of the 16-team Northwoods League. The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate League in North America.
