The summer of 2004 played out like a perfectly written movie script for the 2004 Madison Mallards. After putting together the Northwoods League’s best record of 46-22, the Mallards put the capper on a season to remember by sweeping the Duluth Huskies to win the league championship.

“You work so hard every day for 10 weeks, six to seven hours a day,” said infielder Mike Rohde, who plays his college ball at Illinois. “To finally be rewarded and to see all that work come together — so many long hours — it’s very gratifying. It was awesome; it’s tough to put into words. It was as good a feeling in sports as I’ve ever had.”

In 2003, Madison fell just short of its ultimate goal, falling in the playoffs to the eventual champions, the Wisconsin Woodchucks. That heartbreaking ending added some extra incentive for the team’s returning players.

“For guys like Doug (Beck), (Andy) Sigerich, D.J. (Roshone) and myself, that definitely had a big part in it,” Rohde said. “It really was disappointing last year in Wausau. To come close like that, you remember what that feels like.”

The possibility of a league championship seemed very distant early in the season, as the Mallards opened the summer on the road with a 1-5 record.

“It was tough to stay positive at a time like that,” Rohde said. “We were struggling … hard. It was tough for those thoughts of, ‘Man, this could be a long summer,’ to stay out of our heads. I remember sitting in St. Cloud in the locker-room, just being kind of embarrassed. That made us work that much harder, too, to turn it all around.”

An NCAA-sanctioned amateur team, the Mallard roster boasted players from as far away as Hawaii and as nearby as MATC.

“It’s like in the movie Miracle, when Herb Brooks was picking the team,” Rohde said. “He was like, ‘I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right ones.’ That’s how this team was. I don’t think we had the best talent. Skip (Handelsman) and (general manager) Vern (Stenman) went out and got the right players.”

That collection of “right players” made up a team strong in defense and pitching. Illinois’ Andy Sigerich, Illinois-Chicago’s Ryan Zink, St. Scholastica’s Jake Eiler, Hawaii’s Ricky Bauer and Florida Gulf Coast’s Billy Phillips formed the foundation of a stellar pitching staff. That staff was aided by the Mallards’ rock-solid defense, anchored by the speedy outfield of Ryan Rogowski (Illinois), Greg Thompson (St. John’s) and Jay Johnson (Xavier).

“We won so many games without having to score a lot of runs,” Rohde said. “I’ve never been on a team like this one, where they would hit a ball into the gap and nobody would even be worried. It would just be like, ‘Somebody’s going to catch it,’ and they always did.”

Madison has quickly become one of the most popular places to play in the country. One of the biggest reasons has been the unmatched fan support the Mallards receive. One year after breaking every national summer attendance record, Madison set a new standard for success at the gate. The team drew a total of 171,390 fans, for an average of 5,529 per game. The high mark came June 12, when 10,061 fans packed the Duck Pond.

“The saddest day of the whole year — the entire 365 days — was the day I had to go home,” Rohde said. “I’d wake up in the morning, hear Mallards stuff on the radio and be really proud about it. When you have 5,000 fans every night, you honest to God feed off that energy. It makes you want to play hard for them. It makes you want to hustle, make that extra step or dive that, say, in practice you might not. It makes you want to play your balls off for the people.”

The Northwoods League as whole has seen tremendous growth in the past few years. In 2004, eight teams set new records for total attendance.

“It’s really becoming a premier league, that’s true by the numbers in attendance and the quality of players they get,” Rohde said. “I think in the next five to six years, it will be better than the Cape Cod League. I think word’s getting out that it’s such a great league to play in. That makes me nervous; I want to come back. Hopefully I don’t get replaced by some kid from Arizona State.”