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 Madison Mallards

Gruener Starts as Mallards Seek Fourth-Straight Win

May 29, 2015 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Madison Mallards News Release


Madison, Wis. - Tonight, the Madison Mallards will take their South-Division-leading 3-0 record to Wausau, Wis., for the finale of a two-game set with the Wisconsin Woodchucks. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Athletic Park.

Mallards manager Donnie Scott sends Nick Gruener (Harvard) to the hill for his first start of the season. Gruener, a 6-foot-0, 190-pound right-handed pitcher from Miami Palmetto, Fla., went 3-4 with a 6.96 ERA and 7.39 K/9 ratio across 42.2 innings this spring.

To counter, the Woodchucks will assign right-handed pitcher Matt Smith (Georgetown) to their starter role. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Cranberry Township, Pa., went 4-5 and managed a 2.80 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 29 walks as a junior this season.

Still Rakin': Madison pounded out nine hits in its series-opening victory over Wisconsin on Thursday, an effort that solidified the Mallards team batting average at .327 through three games (tops in the South Division). Scott and company also rank third among Northwoods League teams with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .888 and hold true to a league-high eight stolen bases.

Welcome to Madison: Tony Butler (Madison College) will join the Mallards roster this evening. The Sun Prairie, Wis., native returns for his second campaign with Madison following a junior year in which he batted .356 with 39 runs scored, 31 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases. Butler posted a .246 average, .362 on-base percentage with 16 runs batted in last summer for the Mallards.

To catch all of tonight's action, tune in to ESPN Madison 100.5 FM and follow us on Twitter at @MadisonMallards for live updates.

The Mallards return to the Duck Pond on Saturday, May 30th to take on the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters at 6:05 pm. On Saturday there is a LSM Chiropractic Tumbler Giveaway and Budweiser Post-Game Fireworks.

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