Madison, Wis. (August 11) – After fending off the third-seeded Green Bay Bullfrogs (41-30) with a 3-2, first-round playoff victory Monday night at the Duck Pond, field manager Donnie Scott and the Madison Mallards (43-28) on Tuesday will make their way to historic Simmons Field for the South Division’s championship game at 7:05 p.m. against the Kenosha Kingfish (48-24). With a win, the Mallards would advance to game one of the Northwoods League’s 2015 World Series, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 13. A loss would eliminate Madison from postseason play.

The Mallards received a performance worth remember Monday evening against the Bullfrogs. Andrew Beckwith (Coastal Carolina) surrendered just one unearned run on eight hits, no walks and two strikeouts, throwing 58 of 88 pitches for strikes and reaching a three-ball count to just one hitter. A.J. Bogucki (North Carolina) logged Madison’s final 2.2 frames, fanning five hitters with one run allowed. Offensively, the Mallards were propelled by Anthony Gonsolin’s (St. Mary’s College) home run, Chris Tschida’s (Western Illinois) sac fly and Cameron Frost’s (Washington State) run scored.

Seeking another quality outing from their rotation, Scott and the Mallards coaching staff will turn to Sterling Sharp (Drury University) to start tonight’s win-or-go-home contest against the Kingfish. Sharp, a second-year contributor to Madison’s staff after posting a 4-7 record and 4.47 ERA across 12 starts last summer, enters tonight’s contest with a 2-0 record, 3.85 ERA and eight strikeouts in seven total innings pitched. The 6-foot-4 right-hander masterfully in his only starting appearance, whiffing seven batters sans a hit allowed across five shutout frames August 2 at Wisconsin.

Kingfish field manager Duffy Dyer will counter Sharp and the Mallards with 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher Brendon Allen (Eastern Illinois) in Tuesday’s divisional championship affair. Allen, a native of Moscow Mills, Mo., has staked his claim as one of Kenosha’s better starting pitchers this season, going 4-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 37:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 52 innings. Opposing lineups have had their fair share of success against him at Simmons Field, however. Across 20 innings, hitters have mustered a .313 batting average while drawing seven walks. His ERA in Kenosha is 3.60.

• Kenosha’s Path to Tuesday – Winners of both the first and second-half South Division titles, the Kingfish enter tonight’s championship matchup by way of defeating the La Crosse Loggers by a score of 7-2 Monday night at Simmons Field. Kenosha starting pitcher Rico Garcia (Hawaii Pacific) recorded the winning decision on the mound, hoarding six strikeouts across 5.1 innings in which he allowed just one run. Offensively, the Kingfish were fueled by Pat McInerney’s (Illinois) 2-for-3 batting line, double and game-high three run batted in.
• North Division Championship – On the other side of the Northwoods League’s postseason bracket, the St. Cloud Rox and Duluth Huskies will square off at Joe Faber Field for the right to represent the North Division in game one of Thursday’s 2015 World Series. St. Cloud received a scintillating performance from starting pitcher Reese Gregory (St. Cloud State), who logged 10 strikeouts in a complete-game, 4-0 victory over Rochester. Duluth pulled off a 2-0 upset over Willmar on the road, pounding out three team doubles in the victory.

The Mallards will offer transportation to Simmons Field for Tuesday’s South Division championship game for $40, which will include a ticket and round-trip travel to and from the stadium via coach bus. Call the Mallards Ticket Office at 608-246-4277 or email Rick at rick@mallardsbaseball.com to reserve your ticket for Tuesday’s game. Unable to make the trip? Follow the Mallards on Twitter @MadisonMallards for in-game updates or tune in to 100.5 FM ESPN Madison’s comprehensive play-by-play coverage of all the divisional championship action beginning at 6:45 p.m.

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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.