Madison, WI – May 19, 2008. With opening day now only ten days away, the Mallards roster is beginning to take shape after undergoing recent changes. Biographies for the seven players the team has signed and the reason of those waived are detailed below (in alphabetical order).

Signed:

Andy Deain, RHP, Jr., Northern Illinois. As a sophomore Deain ranked second in the MAC with 33 appearances and his six victories led the entire Huskies pitching staff. He was even more effective against non-conference foes by not allowing a run in 19 innings over 16 appearances. Last summer Deain pitched in the Central Illinois Collegiate League for the Quincy Gems and was named the to All-Star Team for leading the league with 16 games finished and placing second with eight saves. As of May 19, he had a 3-1 record and 4.50 ERA with 10 saves in 35 innings of relief.

Phil Gosselin, INF, Fr., Virginia. A talented young infielder, Gosselin ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania by Perfect Game scouting service for 2008 after making the First-Team All-Inter-Ac Conference while attending Malvern Prep a year prior. He hit .464 as a senior with seven home runs and .450 with eight home runs as a junior. This spring Gosselin had his greatest performance on April 29 with 3 hits and 3 RBI’s in an 11-1 victory over Mount St. Mary’s. As of May 19 Gosselin was hitting .283 with 16 RBI’s and 21 runs scored.

Rob Lyerly, INF, So., UNC-Charlotte
Lyerly is a newcomer to the Atlantic 10-Champion 49ers in 2008 after transferring from Campbell University, where he appeared in 34 games in 2007. He has spent most of 2008 as the designated hitter but has also appeared at first base. Since his arrival at Charlotte, Lyerly has already added his name to the school record books. In a game on April 19 at Massachusetts he set a school record with 19 total bases and tied two others with six hits and three home runs in the contest. His Herculean efforts at the plate in that game helped propel him to Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors. Lyerly also tied a school record with hits in eight consecutive at-bats over two games at one point in the season. In the summer of 2007 Lyerly played for the Asheboro Copperheads in the Coastal Plain League, where he led the team in batting average (.329), hits (68), home runs (8) and RBIs (44).

Alex Pepe, LHP, Jr., Florida Atlantic. As a sophomore Pepe made 24 appearances on the mound posting a 4-1 record and recording 35 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. The talented left-hander played for the Bethesda Big Train & was named to the All-Star Team in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate League last summer after holding opponents to a .143 batting average over 13.1 innings. As of May 19 Pepe had struck out 36 batters in 29.2 innings over 26 appearances.

Alex Rivers, RHP, So., Santa Clara. Rivers joins school teammate Evan LeBlanc in Madison after being named to the WCC All-Freshman Team just a year ago. The powerful reliever made 27 appearances for a 2-2 record and 3.35 ERA that included a perfect stretch from March 30 to April 27 of not allowing a run. As of May 19, Rivers had pitched 62 innings that included eight starts.

Gabriel Shaw, RHP, Fr., Louisville. Shaw was a two-time All-State selection at St. Mary’s High School (Kentucky), posting a 6-3 record with a 1.17 ERA and 62 strikeouts his senior year, after going an impressive 12-1 with a 0.44 ERA and 106 strikeouts as a junior. He also hit 40 doubles and 23 home runs during his prep career, compiling at least a .430 average all four seasons. As of May 19 Shaw was 4-4 in 43.2 innings over 23 appearances.

Reed Woytek, RHP, So., Baylor. Woytek (pictured, above left) comes with great summer league experience having pitched last summer for the Rochester Honkers, compiling a 4-2 record and 3.95 ERA in 23 appearances. A year prior he played for the Hays Larks of the Jayhawk League and helped lead the team to a 40-16 record and the league title with 17 appearances on the mound and 28 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. As a freshman at Baylor Woytek appeared in 15 games and was able to hold the lead or tie during 9 of those chances. As of May 19 he had pitched 13.2 innings in 12 appearances for the Bears.

Waived:

Neil Holland, RHP, Fr., Louisville. Holland needs to attend summer classes at Louisville.

Mike Jacobs, LHP, So., Iowa. Jacobs pitched through an arm injury this spring and will be rehabbing during the summer.

Nick Liles, INF, So., Western Carolina. Liles has decided to play in the Cape Cod League this summer.

Craig Meier, RHP, Jr., UW-Milwaukee. After battling through an arm injury this spring for the Panthers, the two-time Mallard and native of Verona, WI has to rehab to be ready for next year’s college season.

Jon Ringenburg, RHP, Fr., Baylor. Ringenburg, a two-way player, was unable to pitch this spring due to a flared labrum and will be shut down this summer.

The Mallards open their eighth season on at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, May 29 against the rival La Crosse Loggers with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. All tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at MallardsBaseball.com, over the phone at (608) 246.4277, or in person at the “Duck Pond.”