Madison, WI – March 12, 2009. The Mallards are excited to announce pitching coach Jason Immekus and hitting coach Jason Smith have agreed to return to Madison in the same roles for the 2009 season. Immekus enters his fourth season at Jefferson College this spring after helping lead the Vikings to a 35-20 record, a twelfth Midwest Community College Athletic Conference championship, and a second consecutive appearance in the Region XVI championship game last year. His tutelage was instrumental in pitchers Gabriel Shaw (Louisville) and Matt Jansen’s (Purdue) selections as Northwoods League Mid-Season All-Stars for the Mallards in 2008. Meanwhile, Smith enters his second season at Quincy University looking to improve upon a 26-26 overall record and 15-17 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Last summer the Mallards set a NWL team batting record with 333 walks, eclipsing the 323 mark posted by the Rochester Honkers in 1999.

Immekus’ college baseball playing career began at Independence Community College (Kansas) before transferring to the nearby University of Washburn. After college he signed a free agent contract with the Richmond Roosters in the independent Frontier League and played there for two seasons. He then spent the following year with the Kalamazoo Kings in the same league.

During Smith’s playing days at Aurora University he earned NIIC All-Conference honors three times and was named to the All-Region Team twice. In the summer of 2007 he was an assistant coach for the Quincy Gems in the Central Illinois Collegiate League. Jason is the older brother of former Mallards two-year right-handed pitcher Brian Smith.