By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations
Madison, WI — August 3, 2013. The Madison Mallards (16-12, 37-24) had never lost three-consecutive games this season prior to Thursday’s game against Willmar, but the La Crosse Loggers (15-11, 36-25) extended that streak to four Friday night and will square off against the Mallards again tonight at 6:05 pm at Warner Park.
The Loggers used four-run innings in the second and the sixth to race out to an 11-6 lead, but the Mallards responded at the plate and played catch up against the Loggers relief pitchers.
Joe McCarthy (Virginia) and Drew Weeks (North Florida) recorded two straight singles in the seventh to lead off the inning and Jason Goldstein (Illinois) drove McCarthy in two batters later on a fielder’s choice off of Loggers reliever James Guillen (USC).
Weeks then pulled the Mallards within two the next inning with a two-out, two-run single down the right field line. Onas Farfan (Ridgewater College) then worked around a walk in the ninth to pick up his second save of the season for the Loggers.
Starting the final game of the nine-game home stand for the Mallards will be Cam Verbeke (Illinois State). He has been tagged with losses in each of his past two starts. On July 26th against Battle Creek he went just three innings and allowed two runs (both earned) on five hits in an 11-9 loss and allowed five runs (all earned) over 5.1 innings on July 20th at Wisconsin. So far this season, Verbeke is 5-3 with a 3.71 ERA over 13 appearances (six starts).
Starting for the opposition will be 6’7,” 205-pound Josh Frye (Long Beach State). So far this season, Frye is 4-3 with a 3.90 ERA over 10 appearances, all of which have been starts. His first start of the season came against the Mallards on June 1st and he allowed no runs on just two hits over five innings. He has 65 strikeouts this season over 60 innings pitched.
RBI Race to the Finish
Weeks drove in three more runs last night during a 4-for-5 performance and is now nearly neck-and-neck with Willmar’s Marc Flores (Hawaii) for the Northwoods League lead in RBIs. Flores (56) sits two RBIs ahead of the Green Cove Springs, Florida native with nine games left in the season.
Hits on Hits
Mallards second baseman John LaPrise (Virginia), who leads the league in hitting with a .419 average, is 10th in the league in hits so far this season despite arriving in Madison two weeks later than most players. All nine players that have more hits than him this year have played in at least 10 more games than him.
Up Next:
The Mallards hit the road for a six-game road trip starting tomorrow in Wisconsin Rapids. First pitch for that game is at 5:05 pm. They will also travel to Willmar and Mankato during the road trip and will return to the “Duck Pond” on August 10th against Lakeshore for the final two games of the regular season.
Saturday, August 10th is Back to School Night! There will also be a Mallards Trading Card giveaway presented by Charter Communications. Former Major League Baseball All-Star Roy Sievers will also be making an appearance and the United Way Community Connection Night will also be held. Post-game fireworks will be presented by Budweiser.
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.
