THE DUCK POND ? Brian Kroll is starting to make a habit of this. For the third time this year and the second time in his last three starts, Mallards right-hander Brian Kroll went the distance, giving up just one run and scattering eight hits while fanning nine as the Ducks beat the Rochester Honkers 4-1.

The only run that Kroll surrendered scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. With the complete game performance, Kroll improved to 4-4 on the season while lowering his ERA to 2.27.

?Brian has been great for us all season long,? exclaimed Mallards manager Darrell Handelsman. ?Tonight was a great win for our ball club in a very big game.?

The Mallards improved to 33-22 on the season and are three games behind the Wausau Woodchucks for the best overall record in the Northwoods League. The team that finishes with the best overall record will have home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Ducks currently hold the tie-breaker by having beaten the Chucks in 4 out of the 6 games played head-to-head so far this year.

?These two games are huge,? said Mallards assistant coach C.J. Thieleke. ?If we win these two games we?ll have the edge on them.?

Them is the Wausau Woodchucks who have been red-hot in the second half of the season. The Chucks come in with a record of 19-5 in the second stanza.

Tonight will be a big night off the field as well as it is SITEL Let?s Make A Deal Night. The first 500 fans will receive a Mallards pennant with the opportunity to trade it in for possibly a bigger prize or a booby prize.

Also, the Duck Pond Concert Series presented by Luther?s Blues, Budweiser, and UPN 14 continues as Dan Darrah will be performing live after the game on the Great Dane Duck Blind. Darrah is one of the hottest acts in the Midwest and has been tearing up Chicago.

The gates open at 5:45 with the first pitch at 7:05 tonight.