There was a time when Rob Lyerly was struggling at the plate.

It might be hard for Madison Mallards fans to believe, but Lyerly hit just .178 as a freshman at Campbell (N.C.) University in the spring of 2007. After the season he headed to Asheboro (N.C.) of the Coastal Plain League in need of a summer-long confidence booster.

He hasn't stopped hitting since. And Lyerly's consistent offensive production is a major reason why — more than a year later — the Mallards find themselves in the Northwoods League championship series, with Game 1 against Thunder Bay on Friday night at Warner Park.

Lyerly won the NWL batting title, hitting .342 during the regular season en route to earning league midseason and postseason All-Star honors.

His 48 RBIs and 19 doubles ranked second in the league and broke Mallards single-season records.

He led Madison in slugging percentage (.474) and on-base percentage (.414), and his two-run double Wednesday night helped break open the Mallards' South divisional playoff matchup with Wisconsin and send them to the title series.

"I've been very blessed," said Lyerly, who was named the Mallards' most valuable player.

Not bad for a player the team picked up a couple weeks before the start of the season.

"To be honest with you, we got lucky with Rob," Madison general manager Vern Stenman said. "I think he's exceeded any hopes we had for him. I think he's done better as a Mallard than we would have ever dreamed of him doing."

But it all started last summer, when Lyerly hit .329 with the Copperheads and emerged feeling good about his swing.

That certainly showed this past spring, when, after transferring to Charlotte, he hit .364 and led the Atlantic-10 Conference champion 49ers with 76 RBIs.

"It gives you confidence when you play well," Lyerly said. "Going to a great program like Charlotte, I just wanted to come in and help, and I was able to do that. I think the confidence from last summer, hitting with a wood bat, helped me out."

It's continued to carry over.

Mallards manager C.J. Thieleke calls Lyerly "without a doubt" the team's most consistent player.

Lyerly has given the team a presence in the middle of the lineup it wouldn't otherwise have, and hasn't run into any real slumps. He hit .341 with two homers and 19 RBIs in June; .330 with 21 RBIs in July; and .378 with one homer and eight RBIs in August.

His average was below .300 for only three days this season — his first three with the Mallards.

"He's got a great approach at the plate," Madison second baseman Phil Gosselin said. "He's one of the smartest hitters I've been around. It keeps you from going through slumps when you have a good approach."

The son of a former college baseball player, Lyerly stresses not wasting any at-bats.

He's been pretty effective at doing that so far this summer, and the Mallards likely will need more from him to emerge with their second NWL crown.

"When you're 2-for-4, you want to make sure you have the good fifth at-bat so you don't go 2-for-5," Lyerly said. "Those at-bats will add up."