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Local Baseball, Northwoods and Mallard Style
by Aavanté Clay, age 14
The Madison Mallards will not play teams from the Northwoods League’s Northern Division this year. The Northwoods League recently decided to split into two eight-team divisions and play interdivisional games during the regular season. The decision was made in order to reduce costs and the hassle of long bus rides for its players and teams. Division winners will meet at season’s end in a league championship series.
The move helps simplify the Mallards 2010 schedule. The team will now play seven South Division competitors ten times each. The NWL has added franchises in Wisconsin Rapids and Willmar, Minnesota. The Mallards will play teams from Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Wausau, Battle Creek (Michigan), and Waterloo (Iowa).
The Madison Mallards play games beginning in June and continuing through August. They will have 14 weekend home games, including a July 3 game in association with Rhythm and Booms. Their final home game will be against Green Bay on August 16, the NWL playoffs begin on August 17, and the championship series will start on August 20. The All-Star Game will be held at Carson Park, in Eau Claire, on July 20.
The Mallards are installing 228 original wooden seats from Wrigley Field at the Duck Pond. The seats will be in a section near the left field line, and will be billed as a VIP experience. With these tickets come other perks such as food and non-alcoholic beverages. This new section is part of a three-year renovation plan planned for Warner Park’s ball field.
In other baseball news, Steve Schmitt, the Mallards owner, who also owns The Shoe Box and Rookies Sports Bar in Black Earth, Wisconsin, and
Vern Stenman, the Mallards general manager, recently started the new Northwoods team in Wisconsin Rapids.
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters will also play in the league’s South Division. Stenman and Schmitt will be the club’s co-owners and club’s co-presidents. Liz Kern will be the general manager.
[Sources: Wisconsin State Journal; The Capital Times; Mallardsbaseball.com]
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