Madison, WI – June 16, 2009. The Mallards will look to get back on track tonight against the last place Waterloo Bucks at the “Duck Pond” with game-time scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Madison (13-5) remains tied with the Eau Claire Express for first place in the South Division heading into tonight’s contest.
Taking the mound for Madison will be 6’8” right-hander Joe Yermal (Charlotte) who owns a perfect 3-0 record with a 2.84 ERA over 12.2 innings and two starts. Opponents are hitting .245 against the soon-to-be junior.
Yermal has yet to lose a game in a Mallards uniform as he posted a 4-0 record and 4.42 ERA over 53 innings and 10 starts last summer in helping lead the team to the Northwoods League Championship Series against the Thunder Bay Border Cats.
The Bucks will counter with a right-hander of their own in Scott Williams (UW-Stevens Point) who is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA over 16 innings that includes 3 starts. Two of his three appearances have been quality starts. On May 29 against the Green Bay Bullfrogs he threw 6.1 innings and allowed only one earned run on four hits, while on June 10 against the Alexandria Beetles he allowed one earned run on four hits over six innings of work.
His only poor performance came against the Mallards on June 4 when he was touched for 8 runs (6 earned) on 8 hits over 3.2 innings. Madison went on to win that game 11-4.
First Things First
While the Mallards have yet to sweep their opponent on the road, the team did accomplish a first on Sunday by winning the first game of a road series in a 6-4 victory over the Bullfrogs.
Power Surge
With 16 home runs already, the Mallards have their sites set on the franchise-mark of 24 set in 2003. The team is only four long bombs short of the second-highest total of 20 achieved in 2005.
Cardinal Pride
With last night’s three hits, Kurtis Muller’s (Iowa) batting average jumped 21 points to .329 and the speedy center fielder now ranks fourth in the league in total hits (23). This afternoon Muller’s alma mater, Sun Prairie High School, takes on Bay Port in the WIAA State Baseball quarterfinals at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton.
Catch all Mallards action by listening to FM 100.5 ESPN or by visiting espnmadison.com to listen to live streaming.
Tonight’s promotion is Sports Impressions T-Shirt Night for the first 1,250 fans & it’s also The Office Night presented by Madison’s CW. To purchase tickets for the game please click here or call us at 608.246.4277!
On Wednesday, it’s Luedtke-Storm-Mackey Stress Reliever Duck Night (first 1,500 fans) & St. Mary’s Senior Walk Up with Maynard Night (free admission to fans ages 60+, day of game only). Also, former Major League All-Star & Wisconsin native Ryne Duren will appear & sign free autographs! To purchase tickets for Wednesday please click here!
