Hoffmann, Buckley, and Pondick Back for Their Second Campaign in Madison

Madison, WI – January 19, 2015.  The Madison Mallards will return three key contributing arms to the team in 2015. Nate Hoffmann (Middle Tennessee State University), Andrew Buckley (University of California), and Alex Pondick (University of Montevallo) will be back in Madison again next season.

Hoffmann, a 6’2", 190-pound junior will join the Mallards for his second season after putting up a solid 2014 campaign. The Sun Prairie native appeared in 18 games and finished the season with a 3-2 record. Hoffmann put up a 4.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 36 innings of work.

Hoffmann will begin his career with Middle Tennessee State this spring. The transfer from Madison College finished the 2014 season with the Wolfpack 3-3, with a 2.56 ERA, posting a shutout and four saves.

As a freshman in 2013, Hoffmann helped pitch his team to third place in the NJCAA World Series. He finished with a 9-1 record and 2.14 ERA. Hoffmann struck out 56 opponents in 71.1 innings while holding opponents to a .222 batting average.

After his freshman season in 2013 Hoffmann earned himself NJCAA All-Tournament team honors and First Team All-Conference in the North Central Community College Conference.

Buckley, a 6'2", 210-pound sophomore from Concord, California will return to Madison for his second season after bolstering the Mallards bullpen in 2014.  He appeared in 22 games and finished the season with a 4.07 ERA in 35.1 innings pitched.  He had 43 strikeouts and a 2-0 record with one save.

As a freshman with the Golden Bears, Buckley appeared in nine games out of the bullpen posting an ERA of 5.84 with one save. As a junior at De La Salle High School, Buckley went 5-2 with a 1.71 ERA with two complete games and 53 strikeouts.

Pondick, a 6'2", 185-pound redshirt sophomore from Southside, Alabama will be returning for his second season as well. Pondick added depth to the rotation and the bullpen appearing in 16 games and starting in eight. Pondick finished last season with the Mallards with a 4.83 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched.

As a freshman in 2014 for Montevallo, Pondick started in all 14 games he appeared in for the Falcons. He finished with a team high five wins in 68.1 innings pitched.  As a junior at Southside High School he finished with a 12-3 record on the mound while pitching 10 complete games. His 2.04 ERA and 4-0 record in the postseason helped lead his team to the 2012 Class 5A state championship series.

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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.MadisonMallards.com