The two highest win totals in the Northwoods League’s South division are set to matchup tonight, as the Mallards (13-7) will take on the Kalamazoo Growlers (12-10) at 7:05 pm. This game will mark the first meeting between the two teams, and is the first game of a two-game series in Madison.
Mike Reitcheck (Penn) will pitch in his fourth game of the season tonight for the Mallards, as he has been one of their best pitching assets in 2016. Standing at an unblemished 2-0 record, the left-hander has struck out 15 batters over 17 innings of work with a 1.29 WHIP and 4.23 ERA. This will be Reitcheck’s first home start of the season, being the only Mallards starter yet to make his debut at the Duck Pond. Reitcheck has gone at least five innings in each of his previous three starts.
Kalamazoo will throw a left-hander of their own in the form of Larry Wood (Northwood), who followed a Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night performance with a short outing. After allowing only three hits to Green Bay across seven frames back on June 8th, Wood surrendered six runs on 11 hits to the Woodchucks. On the season, Wood stands at 1-0 with a 3.93 ERA and has yet to walk a batter.
Nate Palace (Valparaiso) has been heating up as of late for the Mallards, as the corner infielder is looking to hit safely in his ninth consecutive game. He’s hitting .389 over the past ten games, scoring seven runs in that period.
Tonight’s game against the Kalamazoo Growlers is Alliant Energy STEM Night with a science fair. Make Music Madison Night will also be tonight, with live in-stadium boomwhackers with performance by Sunspot. Tickets for the game 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, 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 portal. For more information, visit www.mallardsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
