The home and road splits have not been kind to the Warner Park faithful in 2016, as their 2-1 win last night over Lakeshore kept Madison at a perfect 6-0 on the road compared to a 1-2 start at home. Statistically, the Mallards are hitting .333 with a 2.33 team ERA in six away games versus a .245-team batting average and 6.33 team ERA at the Duck Pond.
Tonight will be the home debut of Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater), a local product who looked stellar in his last start before the rain cut his outing short. The right-hander fired two hitless innings prior to the rain delay.
Mallards fans will also get a first look at infielder Nico Hoerner (Stanford), who joined the team on the road yesterday and will make his first start at home tonight. The freshman hit .254 with eight doubles and 24 RBIs for the Cardinal. He was 1-4 with a run in last night’s contest.
The Chinooks have struggled offensively as the season has progressed, as Lakeshore only hits a mere .199 as a team. They have hit a single home run since 2016 has begun and have scored 25 runs. The Mallards, on the other hand, hit .307 with nine home runs and 61 runs scored. However, Lakeshore has an opponent batting average of .197 whereas Madison’s BAA is .255. This is shaping up to be a game of the Chinooks pitching versus the Mallards bats.
Lakeshore will send the sophomore Joey Abraham (Vanderbilt) to the bump after a solid first outing against Kalamazoo. He went five innings while allowing only one run, walking five and striking out five. He pitched in 16.2 innings for Vandy in 2016, posting a 5.40 ERA.
Tonight’s game against Lakeshore will feature Juggling Josh Horton. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting MallardsBaseball.com, calling the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277, or stopping in the ticket office at 2920 N Sherman Ave.
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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 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, 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 150 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com
