The Mallards (23-11) find themselves a game back of the division-leading Wisconsin Rapids Rafters with a day left in the first half, with the hopes of a first-half South division title still alive and well. In order to guarantee themselves a playoff spot heading into the second half, Madison will have to beat the Wisconsin Woodchucks (13-21) in Wausau today, have the Rafters lose to the Battle Creek Bombers, and have the Lakeshore Chinooks top the Kalamazoo Growlers. A Mallards loss would give the first-half title to the Rafters, with the plan then being that Madison could win the second half or grab a wild card spot with a good enough composite record.
Needing a win tonight, manager Donnie Scott will send Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater) to the hill, as the right-hander has been one of the Mallards most reliable arms in 2016. Standing 1-0 with a 3.13 ERA, Renz has only allowed more than one earned run in one of his five starts this season. Renz has struck out 14 in 23 innings of work, allowing his defense to work behind him. Opposing batters are hitting just .213 against Renz when there is a runner on base.
The Woodchucks will start Robert Zeigler (Kent State) in the game tonight, a pitcher who became familiar with the Mallards offense back on June 23rd. The right-hander went five innings in that contest, allowing six runs on six hits, while striking out five with a lone walk. Ziegler would actually take the victory, as the Woodchucks would win a high scoring affair by a score of 10-7. His opponent in that match was Heath Renz.
Situational hitting has been a big reason why the Mallards are still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the first half, as they’ve taken the lead in the 8th and 9th innings in their past two games, respectively. Bryce Carter (Stanford) hit a three-run shot in the 8th to take the lead vs. St. Cloud and Matt McCann (Fairleigh Dickinson) delivered a two-out, go-ahead RBI single in the game last night against the Woodchucks.
The contest tonight against the Woodchucks will get underway at 6:35 pm from Athletic Park in Wausau, Wisconsin.
The Mallards will return to the Duck Pond tomorrow, July 6th to take on the Battle Creek Bombers at 7:05 pm in the first matchup of the second half. The game will feature a Physicians Plus blanket giveaway. 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, 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.
