By: Ryan Hill \u2014 Public Relations<\/p>\n
Madison, WI \u2014 June 27, 2013.\u00a0Mallards outfielders Tate Matheny and Joe McCarthy have recently found themselves on quite the list.<\/span><\/p>\n Matheny, a native of Chesterfield, Missouri, and McCarthy, an Exton, Pennsylvania native, have recently been named to Baseball America Freshman All-American teams.<\/p>\n McCarthy was a first-team selection after completing his first season with the Virginia Cavaliers while Matheny earned second-team honors after his first season with the Missouri State Bears.<\/p>\n McCarthy found himself hitting in the middle of the lineup for a Cavaliers team that was ranked as high as fifth this past year and reached the NCAA Super Regionals.<\/p>\n The similarities between their freshman seasons are almost scary. Both players hit exactly .336 with four home runs and both players won Freshman of the Year in their respective conferences.<\/p>\n But did they expect to be named to an All-American team?<\/p>\n \u201cAt first it shocked me,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cBut then you just look back at how hard me and my teammates have worked over the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Matheny wasn\u2019t necessarily thinking about that. He\u2019s just glad he gets the chance to play alongside someone with as much ability as McCarthy.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe and I were lucky enough to pull through and be able to do that,\u201d Matheny said. \u201cIt\u2019s a blast and it\u2019s awesome to hang around somebody like him who has such an unbelievable amount of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Joe and Tate\u2019s freshmen seasons weren\u2019t all fine and dandy. Matheny started out as the No. 9 hitter for the Bears while McCarthy remembered struggling mentally towards in the beginning of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cI came into college really wide-eyed and looking around like I was one of the worst players in the locker room,\u201d McCarthy recalled. \u201cBut you have to realize it\u2019s college, it\u2019s baseball. The game doesn\u2019t change, it\u2019s just a different level.\u201d<\/p>\n Matheny added: \u201cMy manager didn\u2019t just wanna toss me right in there as a freshman,\u201d he said. \u201cHe gave me some time to work some kinks out, and I definitely had some kinks,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n Adapting to the college level took some physical adjustments as well. Both players said the amount of consistency and command that collegiate pitchers possess struck them more than anything.<\/p>\n \u201cI never saw a cutter, at least a good one before college,\u201d Matheny said. \u201cNext thing you know you see a fastball that moves four inches. And that\u2019s the difference between a double off the wall and hitting a pop fly to second base\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cOr breaking your back,\u201d McCarthy chimed in with a laugh.<\/p>\n Their freshman year success has quite obviously carried over into the Northwoods League with the Mallards. McCarthy is hitting .364 (8-for-22) with a home run and four RBIs, while Matheny is hitting .250 while smacking five home runs and knocking in 20 runs.<\/p>\n For both Matheny and McCarthy, they view playing for the Mallards in the Northwoods League as a sort of a prize.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryday we just worked hard to make it happen,\u201d Matheny said. \u201cAnd this is our reward, both of mine and Joe\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Ryan Hill \u2014 Public Relations Madison, WI \u2014 June 27, 2013.\u00a0Mallards outfielders Tate Matheny and Joe McCarthy have recently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archived-news"],"yoast_head":"\n