Madison, WI — June 1, 2009. After playing their first four games on the road, the Mallards return to Madison today for their home opener, a 7:05 p.m. match against the Rochester Honkers. Sophomore Jordan Hershiser (USC) will start for the Mallards, who split series with both Alexandria and Brainerd to begin the season.
Mallards fans got their first taste of Hershiser when they saw him face the Swedish national team last Wednesday. While he struggled with his control to start off the game, he settled down in his one inning of work, allowing only two unearned runs.
“Jordan Hershiser, I thought, composed himself very well and did a tremendous job,” Mallards manager C.J. Thieleke said following the Mallards’ win over Sweden. “I’m very encouraged about what we saw out there from Jordan.”
Rochester will counter Hershiser with Michael Goodman, a junior out of UNLV. So far for the Honkers this season, Goodman has pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. This past spring for the Rebels however, Goodman struggled with his command, striking out 20 batters while walking 15 in only 24 innings pitched. He also posted an ERA of 6.29 over his 15 appearances, 14 of which came in relief.
The Mallards are coming off a big win over Brainerd, during which they scored eight runs on a season-high 11 hits. They received contributions from all across the lineup, but particularly from Ben Long (UW-Milwaukee) and Kurtis Muller (Iowa). Long went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Muller — who has led off each game with a base hit — went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Long is batting .615 through the first four games, and Muller is batting .450 during the same span.
But perhaps the biggest story yesterday was Mallards starting pitcher Matt Morgan (Purdue). Morgan pitched eight shutout innings while striking out five in the Mallards’ 8-0 win.
Meanwhile, Rochester is coming off their first loss of the season, a 4-0 shutout courtesy of the Green Bay Bullfrogs. In that game, the Honkers only had two base hits and were struck out 11 times by two Bullfrog pitchers.
Tonight’s game is the first of a two game set with Rochester, and it is the first of a six game home stand for the Mallards.
—
The Mallards Charter Communications Opening Day presented by Signature Graphics is Monday, June 1 at 7:05 p.m. against the Rochester Honkers! All fans will receive a poster schedule & fans 18 & older will have the chance to win great cash prizes courtesy of the Wisconsin Lottery. To boot, former Milwaukee Brave All-Star Johnny Logan will be in attendance to sign autographs! Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. To buy tickets for Opening Day, click here or call 608.246.4277.
