By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
Madison, WI — August 1, 2013. The Madison Mallards (16-10, 37-22) kick off the month of August by finishing a two-game set against the Willmar Stingers (10-13, 33-25) Thursday night at the ‘Duck Pond.’
Thursday’s game will be the seventh game of a nine-game home stand and the Mallards are 3-3 so far during this stretch.
The Stingers put a huge offensive performance on display Wednesday night in the first ever meeting between the teams. They hit three home runs—including a grand slam in the top of the first—and eventually went on to win 10-7.
The Stingers scored five runs in the fifth, but three of those runs came on pure bad luck for the Mallards. Tate Matheny (Missouri State) lost a fly ball in the night sky with two runners on and allowed both to score while one more run came across in the next at-bat on another lost ball in the outfield. The Mallards pulled within two one inning later after Jason Goldstein (Illinois) walked in a run but the deficit would go back to a pair of runs in the eighth from a solo shot off the bat of Stingers leadoff hitter Michael Suchy (Florida Gulf Coast).
Taylore Cherry (North Carolina) is set to start on the hill tonight for the Mallards and will look for his second win of the season. So far this summer with the Mallards, Cherry is 1-0 with a 3.04 ERA and has 17 strikeouts over 23.2 innings. He went five innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) on four hits during his last start on July 25th against Battle Creek. He has gone at least five innings and allowed six hits or less in each of his last four starts.
Fantastic Flores
Willmar’s Marc Flores (Hawaii) took over the No. 1 spot from Drew Weeks (North Florida) in the league in RBIs two days ago and it didn’t take long to extend that lead last night. His opposite-field grand slam in the first last night was his 11th home run of the season and he now has five more RBIs (54) than Weeks.
Chasing Lakeshore
After their loss last night, the Mallards fell to three games back of the Lakeshore Chinooks in the second half standings. If Lakeshore finishes the season with a better overall record, the Mallards will be guaranteed only one home playoff game in the first series of the playoffs. The Chinooks record of 39-19 overall is 2.5 games ahead of the Mallards mark of 37-22.
Up Next:
The Mallards will start a two-game series against the La Crosse Loggers Friday night at 7:05 pm. That game will be the eighth home game of a nine-game stand at the “Duck Pond.”
Friday night will be Hot Sauce Appreciation Night and there will be hot sauce samples presented by Dashelito’s Hot Sauce. The ZOOperstars will make another appearance at the “Duck Pond” and will be presented by The Payroll Company. It will also be the Road Home Community Connection Night.
The Madison Mallards are your Northwoods League South Division First Half Champions! Playoff 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 is celebrating its 20th season.
