In the first-half finale on Tuesday night in Wausau, the Madison Mallards (23-13) defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks (13-22) by a final score of 4-2.
With Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater) in control on the mound, the Mallards were able to give the right-hander an early 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Nico Hoerner (Stanford) ripped a double to the wall in left field to score Nelson Maldonado (Florida) to give the Mallards a 1-0 lead. Matt McCann (Fairleigh Dickinson) followed Hoerner’s RBI double with an RBI groundout to score Joe Stefanki (San Jose State).
The two-run cushion proved to be enough for Renz, who earned the win on the mound for the Mallards. He was brilliant, as he limited the Woodchucks to one run over five innings of work, striking out three batters while only walking one.
Luke Matheny (Oklahoma State) made his first appearance since early June out of the bullpen, as he came on to pitch a scoreless sixth inning, highlighted by a strikeout.
Zach Jarrett (UNC-Charlotte) would come to the plate in the top of the 7th with a runner aboard. Jarrett launched his sixth home run of the season over the left field wall, as the Mallards pushed their lead to 4-1. With the home run, Jarrett tied Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) for the team lead with six dingers in the first half. The Mallards combined to hit thirty-two home runs as a team during the course of the first half, the most in the Northwoods League.
With a 4-1 lead Justin Watts (Northern Kentucky) came on to work the bottom of the seventh inning, as Mallards manager Donnie Scott handed the ball to the right-hander to shut down the Woodchucks. Watts was in control from the beginning, as he was able to work the final three innings for his first save of the season.
With the win, the Mallards wrapped up the first half of the season on a three game winning streak. Their 23-13 record was good for a second place finish in the South division.
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 Nooutrthwoods 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.
