By: Ryan Hill — Public Relations

Madison, WI — August 11, 2013. The Madison Mallards (20-16, 41-28) are playing the final regular season game at the ‘Duck Pond’ today against the Lakeshore Chinooks (22-13, 43-36) at 5:05 pm and will find out their divisional round playoff opponent by the end of the day.

The Mallards win combined with a 6-2 La Crosse Loggers win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks last night means the Mallards opponent in the divisional round of the Northwoods League playoffs is yet to be determined. A Lakeshore win or a La Crosse loss today would put the Chinooks in the playoffs while a La Crosse win and a Lakeshore loss today would mean the Mallards would square off against the Loggers starting Monday.

North Florida teammates Drew Weeks and Alex Bacon powered the Mallards offensive attack last night and knocked in five of the Mallards nine runs in a 9-3 win over the Chinooks. Weeks’ three RBIs pushed him back into the lead of the RBI race in the Northwoods League, as his 65 on the year are two ahead of Willmar’s Marc Flores (Hawaii). 

6’6″ southpaw Andrew Arenson arguably had his best start of the season and got some big help from a five-run third that included a Weeks two-run shot. He wound up allowing just one run, which was a home run from Chinooks shortstop Sawyer Polen (Kent State), on four hits over 5.1 innings and improved to 2-0 on the season.

Looking to build off of Arenson’s impressive night on the mound will be Burlington, Wisconsin native Rex Morrow (Madison College). He has made two relief appearances for the Mallards this summer and has a 5.40 ERA. He struggled in his first appearance on August 4th against Wisconsin Rapids but was hurt by poor defense. He allowed five runs (one earned) on three hits and walked two while only recording two outs. He settled down in his next appearance on August 8th at Mankato and struck out two in one inning of work.

Chasing the Record Book

Two Mallards players are near the top of some all-time Northwoods League records with just one game left in the regular season. Weeks’ 65 RBIs is just three behind former Major League Baseball player Jay Gibbons’ second-place mark of 68 from the 1997 season. Alexandria’s Ben Moore (Alabama) topped Gibbons’ record last year by driving in 84. John LaPrise’s (Virginia) .411 batting average is .026 points behind Luis Rivera’s (Florida Southern) mark of .437 in 1995. Even if LaPrise goes 0-for-5 today he will become the third player in Northwoods League history to bat .400 in a season.

Staub Snubbed

Mallards starter Luke Staub (George Washington) would lead the Northwoods League in ERA with a mark of 1.80 but is not eligible. By Northwoods League rules, pitchers must have a minimum of 0.8 inning pitched per team game and Staub has pitched 55 innings through 69 games. That puts him at 0.797 innings pitched per team game.

Up Next:

The Mallards will be on the road tomorrow against either the Lakeshore Chinooks or the La Crosse Loggers before returning to the “Duck Pond” for Game No. 2 of the Northwoods League Divisional Round of the playoffs. Game No. 3 (if necessary) will also be on the road.

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.