Published On: August 8th, 2015

8-8 pre game CROPPEDMadison, Wis. (August 8) – Postseason positioning will be on the line this weekend when the Madison Mallards (22-11, 42-26), winners of seven straight, travel to La Crosse for a three-game, two-day series with the Loggers (19-15, 38-30) to wrap their 2015 regular-season schedule within the confines of Copeland Park.Saturday will feature a double-header with La Crosse for Madison, who holds a one-and-a-half-game lead over Green Bay for the division’s second-best overall record. Game one will begin at 5:05 p.m. CT, and the nightcap will start 30 minutes after the completion of game one.

The Mallards enter today’s double-header in La Crosse on the heels of a historic performance Friday night at Warner Park. In the bottom of the third inning against Battle Creek, the Mallards exploded for two grand slams and capped the frame with 10 runs scored en route to a 17-7 victory over the Bombers in their home finale. The Northwoods League could not confirm if it was the first occurrence in summer collegiate history that a team has hit two grand slams in one frame, but the rare feat has only been accomplished once in Major League Baseball history, back when Fernando Tatis of the St. Louis Cardinals hit two grand slams in the third inning on April 27, 1999 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Looking to compliment his hot-swinging lineup with quality pitching, Mallards field manager Donnie Scott will turn to Sean Renzi (Central Michigan) to start game one of today’s double-header at Copeland Park. Renzi, 6-foot-3 right-hander from Plainfield, Ill., who was added to Madison’s roster earlier this morning, will make his Mallards debut after a collegiate campaign in which he went 5-2 with a 2.33 ERA, 60 strikeouts and .187 opponent batting average across 65.2 innings in the Midwest Athletic Conference. In his four college seasons, Renzi has struck out 112 in 107.2 innings.

Game two of the twin-bill will see left-handed pitcher Troy Kenkel (UW-La Crosse) also tab his first start of the summer. Kenkel, a 6-foot-4 southpaw from Monomonee Falls, Wis., has compiled four appearances (7 IP) with Madison’s bullpen this season, a span of time in which he has allowed just one earned run (1.28 ERA), struck out three and issued three walks. Kenkel’s junior collegiate campaign culminated in a 3-2 record, 4.86 ERA and .280 batting average for opponents across 12 appearances (four starts). He came close to whiffing a batter per inning, striking out 46 in 46.1 frames.

Tickets for potential Mallards playoff home games next week are on sale now by calling the Mallards Ticket Office at 608-246-4277, or visiting www.MallardsBaseball.com for more information. Game times for first-round South Division playoff matchups will be determined after all games on Sunday, August 9 have been completed.

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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 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com.

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