Mallards Playoff Game

Last night Travalon and I went to the Mallards playoff game. It was the second in a best-of-three series, and they had already beaten the Rafters in Wisconsin Rapids on Monday night. We were pleasantly surprised to hear it, since the Rafters had beaten the Mallards in the two times we had seen them play at the Duck Pond this season, once quite decisively. However, this gave us great hope for the game last night, and we were not disappointed. Our seats were the best I’d ever had at the Duck Pond, in the front row right behind home plate, and at one point I would have had a foul ball smash right into my forehead if there hadn’t been a net to intervene – as it was, it came really close to me before I even had time to react. At first there was a very strange person sitting next to us who kept saying random things to nobody in particular, but a very cool couple came and evicted him from their seats, and they told us that he had also been sitting in their seats at another game, even though the seats were in a totally different section. How bizarre is that? Though, to be fair, these two go to a lot of games and have acquired both a game ball and one of those giant beach balls, goals I have not met in all my years of going to the Duck Pond.

The game itself was very satisfying, with the Mallards scoring some runs here and there during the first few innings and keeping the Rafters from scoring at all. Just after I had lamented to our neighbors that we had not yet seen a home run this season from our Mallards, one of them started the bottom of the sixth by sending one right over the fence. Then another guy got a home run! Unfortunately they were both solo home runs, but that’s still two more runs and always exciting. Sure I’d love to see a grand slam someday, but that is something I have never seen from the Mallards in all the years I’ve been watching them, although I’ve seen them load the bases many, many times. The Mallards pitching was quite stellar last night, and in the end they beat the Rafters 6-0 to win the series. Tonight they are off to Traverse City to play the Pit Spitters, whose logo is two cherries spitting out baseballs. If they win that, it is not outside the realm of possibility that the championship game will be at the Duck Pond on Friday. If that happens, I hope everyone understands that Travalon and I will have plans that night. Salsa bands on the roof of the Monona Terrace must take a back seat to championship games for the Mallards!

Famous Hat