Pac-12 pair sign with Mallards
Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards have announced the signing of a pair of players from the University of California-Berkley. Sophomore outfielder Jeffery Mitchell Jr. and junior pitcher Andrew Buckley will head to Madison this summer.
Mitchell Jr., a 5’11”, 190-pound outfielder from Pleasant Hill, CA has plenty of experience patrolling the outfield for the Golden Bears. After appearing in 25 games and reaching base at a .333 clip during his 2016 freshman season, Jeffery’s role has expanded thus far in 2017.
Mitchell Jr. has made 48 starts and sits at third-place on the team with a .324 batting average. He leads the Golden Bears in runs scored with 35 and has 59 hits. He owns a .408 on base percentage and also has proven to be a threat on the base paths as he has swiped ten bags in 11 attempts. Overall, Mitchell Jr. is capable of making an impact in the Mallards outfield and lineup this season.
Buckley, a 6’2”, 230-pound junior righty from Concord, CA will contribute to the Mallards pitching staff this summer after also spending the 2014 summer season in Madison with the team. So far during his career at Cal, Buckley has bounced back from an injury and has developed to be a shut-down reliever for the Golden Bears. After his freshman season, Buckley spent his 2014 summer with the Mallards. He pitched in 22 games compiling 35.1 innings pitched while posting a 4.07 ERA and striking out 43. Buckley missed out on his sophomore season at Cal due to an injury and also redshirted the 2016 season. Buckley has returned to the Golden Bears pitching staff in 2017 as a force.
This season at Cal, Buckley has impressed in the Golden Bears bullpen. He has appeared in 22 games, a team-high, and has racked up 24 innings. Buckley holds a 3-0 record to go along with a 3.38 ERA. Opponents have batted just .148 off of Buckley, a team-low.
The Mallards will open their season at home on Tuesday, May 30th at 6:35 PM against the Fond Du Lac Dock Spiders. Group tickets and single game are on sale now. For information call the Mallards Ticket Office at 608-246-4277, email info@mallardsbaseball.com or stop by the ticket office at 2920 N. Sherman Avenue, Madison, WI.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 160 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.mallardsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.