Madison, WI – March 4, 2009. The Swedes are coming! In preparation for the 2009 World Cup to be played beginning in September, the Swedish National Baseball Team has agreed to play the Mallards in an exhibition game at the “Duck Pond” on Wednesday, May 27. This ultra-competitive international affair marks the first time the Mallards will have played a preseason game since 2002 when the team competed against the rival Wisconsin Woodchucks. Tickets for the event will be priced the same as a regular season Mallards game and will go on sale when all single-game tickets become available to the public on Saturday, May 2. Passes for the Great Dane Duck Blind area will not be available but the deck will be open for additional seating. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. with the game beginning at 6:05 p.m.

The Swedish National team is considered to be one of the top six teams in all of Europe, despite having only around 1,000 licensed players in the country. Some of its best athletes play in the United States, including pitcher Christian Staehely (Seattle Mariners farm system) and infielder Adam Sorgi (Philadelphia Phillies farm system).

The team will make two other stops at Northwoods League venues prior to arriving in Madison, including a contest in Brainerd, Minn. on May 25 and La Crosse on May 26.

The 2009 World Cup is being played for the 38th year and is organized by the IBAF, the world governing body for baseball. The tournament will be held in seven different countries all over Europe—from Moscow, Russia to Barcelona, Spain. Sweden will host one group stage at the new national park for baseball in Sundbyberg. Other groups are being played in Regensburg, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic.

In total, 92 games will be played in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, in an effort to market baseball as a world class game and place it back into the Summer Olympic Games in 2016.

For additional information about the Swedish National Baseball Team please visit www.baseboll-softboll.se.