Madison, WI – July 5, 2014. The Madison Mallards (4-0, 22-15) look to continue their perfect start to the second half of the Northwoods League season this afternoon at the “Duck Pond” against the Battle Creek Bombers (1-3, 17-22) at 4:35 pm.
Pitcher Sterling Sharp (Eastern Michigan) aims to build on his last start after tossing 5.2 innings of one run, and one hit ball against the La Crosse Loggers in a 2-1 win last Monday.
Sharp is tied with Rob McDonnell (Illinois) for the team lead in strikeouts with 26 and carries a 2.85 ERA in 28.1 innings of work going into tonight's game.
He will face Bombers starter Zac Ryan, a 6’1”, 198-pound righty out of Georgia Tech. Ryan is 1-0 on the year with a 4.84 ERA in 13 innings pitched, having struck out 14, walked 13 and given up seven runs on eight hits.
In his last appearance, Ryan pitched 1.1 innings in relief, letting up one run on one hit while striking out two in a 10-3 loss to the Kalamazoo Growlers.
Yesterday, McDonnell led the Mallards to a victory in game two of their doubleheader against the Bombers, giving up one run on two hits while striking out four in a 7-1 win.
The Mallards scored twice in the second inning and led 2-1 going into the fourth before catcher Drew Carlile (Bradley) singled to drive in centerfielder Alex Bacon (North Florida) from second. A five run fourth inning would then propel the Mallards to an Independence Day sweep of the Bombers.
The Mallards took game one of the doubleheader, which was a re-start of the postponed game from June 19th against the Bombers, breaking a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning on catcher Austin Barr’s (Stanford) RBI single and adding an insurance run in the eighth before closer Tim Black (Central Michigan) came on in the ninth to retire three of the four batters he faced and receive his 11th save of the year.
Righty Christian Taugner (Brown) tossed five innings of solid ball in the re-start, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out three.
The Mallards begin a five game road trip tomorrow against the Kalamazoo Growlers (0-3, 13-22) at Homer Stryker field in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They play two against the Growlers and then travel to Wisconsin Rapids for a six game home and home series against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (0-3, 12-23). The Mallards return to the “Duck Pond” on July 11th to face the Rafters at 7:05 pm.
Friday the 11th will feature a MIG Commercial Real Estate LEGO Building Giveaway. It is also Circus World Night with live circus entertainment and Remington Beard Night.
Mallards single game tickets are on-sale now. To purchase tickets, log on to MallardsBaseball.com, call 608-246-4277, or stop by the Mallards ticket office.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit MallardsBaseball.com.
