The second half of the Northwoods League can act as a fresh start to some teams, but the Mallards (0-0, 23-13) will look to continue the strong play they’ve showed over the last few games as they are set to take on the Battle Creek Bombers (0-0, 18-18) in tonight’s contest. Battle Creek finished the first half in fourth place in the South division with Madison finishing in second, a game behind the first place Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
To get the second half underway, the Mallards will throw Mike Byrne (Florida), who will be making his first start of 2016. The right-hander has been sensational out of the bullpen so far this season, allowing only two hits across five innings of work, striking out five with a 0.00 ERA and 0.80 WHIP. He’s 1-0 on the year.
Battle Creek will hand the ball to Malcolm Grady (Wabash Valley CC), who will take the hill for the third time this season. Across two starts, Grady has thrown 10.1 innings, where he has struck out four, walked six and allowed nine runs (three earned). He’s 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA and 1.49 WHIP.
These two teams faced each other four times in the first half, with Madison sweeping the Bombers in those contests. The Mallards hit .356 with a 2.52 ERA in those four games. They’ll look for continued success against Battle Creek tonight.
Madison enters today’s contest with a three-game win streak, winning a few close games in the process. They’ve received a big boost out of Nico Hoerner (Stanford) in the last couples of contests, as the shortstop is hitting .364 with a pair of RBIs over the last five games.
Tonight’s game against the Battle Creek Bombers is set for 7:05 pm from the Duck Pond at Warner Park. 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.
