By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
Madison, WI — June 4, 2013. Four out of the seven current Mallards players who reached the 2013 NCAA Baseball Tournament have advanced to the Super Regionals while three more former Mallards have advanced.
Mallards players Joe McCarthy and John LaPrise (Virginia) advanced after going 3-0 in the Charlottesville Regional while Mallards pitchers Reilly Hovis and Taylore Cherry (North Carolina) moved on after a wild elimination game against Florida Atlantic Monday night. The Tar Heels won 12-11 in 13 innings and Hovis picked up the win by facing only one batter and striking him out to end the 12th.
McCarthy proved to be the Cavaliers’ difference maker in their opening 2-1 win over Army last Friday. McCarthy had an RBI single in the fifth inning with the score still knotted at one run apiece to give the Cavaliers the lead for good. He finished 3-for-3 with a walk and one RBI. The 6’3,” 230-pound freshman from Scranton, Pennsylvania went 1-for-3 with two walks in their 2-0 win over Elon Saturday and finished 0-for-3 with two walks and a pair of runs scored in their 11-3 rematch win against Elon Sunday.
Three other former Mallards players in Derek Fisher, Nick Howard and Reed Gragnani have also anchored the Cavaliers. Fisher hit .315 for the Mallards last summer with eight home runs and 36 RBIs in 51 games while Howard hit .292 with six home runs and 28 RBIs. Fisher went a combined 2-for-12 in the regional with three RBIs while Howard went 6-for-13 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Howard also excelled on the mound for the Cavaliers this season by posting a record of 6-4 with a 3.38 ERA. Gragnani hit .303 with 20 RBIs in games for the Mallards in 2010 and went 2-for-13 with a run scored in the tournament.
North Carolina, who just came off of their best regular season in school history and received the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, was shocked by Florida Atlantic Sunday evening but rallied back Monday night to avoid the upset. Florida Atlantic scored six runs in the top of the ninth build a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth. But the Tar Heels answered and scored two to send it into extras. Florida Atlantic then hit a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the 12th but the Tar Heels evened the score again in the bottom of the inning. The Tar Heels’ Cody Stubbs then singled in the bottom of the 13th with the bases loaded to finalize the back-and-forth contest. Mallards 6’9,” 270-pound pitcher Taylore Cherry did not seen action on the mound during the tournament. Cherry picked up his lone win on the season in the ACC Tournament Championship game on May 26th against Virginia Tech.
Mallards players Kevin Duchene and Jason Goldstein (Illinois) were knocked out of the tournament after going 1-2 in the Nashville Regional. Duchene—who was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year—notched the Illini’s lone win in the tournament Friday in their 6-4 win over Georgia Tech. He scattered eight hits over seven innings and allowed three earned runs. Goldstein, the Illini’s first true freshman starting catcher since 1992, went 1-for-9 in the tournament.
Mallards pitcher Jordan Tabakman (UConn) also saw his season with the Huskies come to a close over the weekend. They upset No. 1 seed Virginia Tech by a score of 5-2 in the first game of the Blacksburg Regional but then lost to Oklahoma by a score of 5-3 in 12 innings. Tabakman started for the Huskies in that game and went nine innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits. They were then faced with a rematch against the Hokies but lost 3-1 on Sunday.
Two teammates of Tabakman’s played for the Mallards during the 2012 season. Anthony Marzi went 5-7 with a 3.75 ERA in 17 starts for the Huskies this spring. He started in the 3-1 loss to the Hokies and went 5.1 innings while allowing one earned run off of five hits. Tom Verdi hit .191 for the Mallards last season and currently serves as the Huskies leadoff hitter. In the tournament, Verdi went 4-for-15 with three runs scored.
Three other former Mallards also competed in the NCAA Tournament with the Florida Gators in pitchers Dan Gibson, Bobby Poyner and Jonathon Crawford. The Gators dropped their first two games in the Bloomington Regional and were eliminated from the tournament. Gibson, who had just a 2.47 ERA in nine appearances (seven starts) with the Mallards in 2012, pitched 0.2 innings of hitless relief in their 4-3 loss to Austin Peay and gave up one earned run in their 5-4 loss to Valparaiso last Saturday. Neither Poyner, who was also a member of the 2012 Mallards squad, nor Crawford, who pitched for the Mallards in 2011, saw action in the tournament.
LSU also went a perfect 3-0 in the Baton Rouge Regional and former Mallards pitcher Will LaMarche is playing for the Tigers. LaMarche went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 relief appearances for the Mallards in 2012 but has not seen action in the tournament. He went 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA in 23 relief appearances for the Tigers this spring.
TJ McGreevy appeared in four games and had an ERA of 6.75 for the Mallards during the 2010 season and was a member of a Wichita State team that was in the Manhattan Regional. They lost their first two games but McGreevy made an appearance in their 20-11 opening loss to Kansas State. He gave up two earned runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work.
Brandon Barker (Mercer), who started six games for the Mallards in 2012 and finished with a 1-3 record with a 3.49 ERA, also saw action in the tournament in the Starkville regional. He started their opening game against South Alabama but was roughed up and only recorded one out after allowing three earned runs off of three hits and a walk.
The Mallards return home tonight after a two-game road trip in Green Bay to square off against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. Game time is set for 7:05 pm. It is also Maynard’s Birthday Party tonight! Fans are encouraged to bring a toy for Maynard to donate to charity. Spectrum Brands Night will also be held at the game.
The 2013 season is upon us! Single-game tickets are on-sale now!
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 Baseball League in North America. In 2013, the Northwoods League will celebrate its 20th season.
