Madison, WI – June 3, 2009. Last night, it was defense and pitching that once again rose to the occassion in the Mallards’ 5-1 win over Rochester. Madison completed the two-game sweep of the Honkers and look to remain unbeaten at the “Duck Pond” tonight when they host Waterloo in a South Division battle at 7:05 p.m.

Matt Jansen (Purdue) went six strong innings of scoreless baseball, scattering six hits and earning his first win of the season. Home runs by Joe De Pinto (USC) and Ben Long (UW-Milwaukee) provided all the offense needed for the Mallards to win their third straight game.

Long is hitting a whopping .619 (13-for-21) with two homers and six RBI through the first six games of the season. He finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI in last night’s 5-1 win. De Pinto raised his average to .318 with a 2-for-4 effort last night.

Making his first start of the season for Madison tonight will be Joe Yermal (UNC-Charlotte). The right-hander returns to the Mallards in 2009 after going 4-0 with a 4.42 ERA in 10 starts a season ago. He went 8-3 with a 3.01 ERA in 14 starts as the 49ers ace this season, leading them to their fifth straight season of 30 wins or more as they finished 33-22 on the year.

Also making his first start this season for the Bucks is freshman left-hander Rick Dodridge of Central Michigan University.

The Bucks (1-5) enter tonight in last place in the Northwoods League South Division, coming off two straight losses to Battle Creek at home.