By: Dylan Lee – Public Relations
Battle Creek, MI – August 7, 2014. The Madison Mallards (18-17, 36-32) take on the Battle Creek Bombers (15-18, 31-37) tonight in Battle Creek, Michigan to begin their final road trip of the season.
On the mound for the Mallards is lefty Rob McDonnell (Illinois). McDonnell is 6-3 on the year with a 3.28 ERA, and in his last start he went six complete innings against the La Crosse Loggers, allowing one run on six hits while striking out three in an 8-4 win.
Last night, the Mallards completed a sweep of the Alexandria Blue Anchors (11-23, 20-48) in their final home game of the 2014 season.
The Mallards came back from a 3-0 deficit in the third inning, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third, two coming on third baseman Trent Higginbothem’s (North Florida) two RBI single. Higginbothem finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run.
First baseman Austin Barr (Stanford) then added an RBI single in the fourth, and shortstop Tony Butler (Virginia) tacked on an RBI double in the fifth to put the Mallards up 5-3.
The Mallards went on to score one more in the seventh before reliever Devin Over (Connecticut) closed down the Blue Anchors in the ninth, allowing one run to receive his first save of the season.
Mallards starter Sterling Sharp (Eastern Michigan) tossed five solid innings, allowing three runs on seven hits to get his fourth win of the season.
In the playoff race, the Mallards are three games back of the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the Northwoods League South Division overall standings. For the Mallards to make the playoffs, they must finish in sole second place in the overall standings.
The Mallards stay in Battle Creek tomorrow for a 6:05 pm (CT) start against the Bombers before traveling to Kalamazoo to face the Kalamazoo Growlers on Saturday and Sunday.
###
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
