The Mallards (43-29) host their first-round playoff matchup with the Battle Creek Bombers (39-33) on Monday, looking to win their first Northwoods League Championship since 2013. The two teams are quite familiar with each other already, having battled eight times during the 2016 season. Madison won five of those contests.
Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater) will get the ball for Madison, having secured his spot at the top of the rotation with his play this summer. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA on the year, set to face Battle Creek for the first time. In Renz’s last start on August 1st, the pride of Jefferson, Wisconsin, threw six innings of two-hit baseball against the Rockford Rivets.
Cody Puckett (Middle Tennessee State) will be on the bump for Battle Creek, having already made two appearances against the Mallards this summer. In one start and one relief appearance against Madison this year, Puckett has a 2.00 ERA in nine innings, striking out 12 in that span. On the season, the left-hander is 6-2 with a 3.26 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 41.1 frames.
The Mallards have been receiving solid work at the plate over the past few outings, with Cameron Frost (Washington State), Nico Hoerner (Stanford) and Zach Jarrett (UNC-Charlotte) all hitting over .300 in their last ten games. Frost has nine RBIs in those contests.
The Mallards first 2016 postseason contest against the Battle Creek Bombers will get underway Monday from the Duck Pond at Warner Park at 7:05 pm. 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.
