Madison, WI – March 28, 2012. The Mallards have announced the signing of sophomore infielder Jeff Zimmerman from Northern Illinois University and freshman infielder and pitcher Nicholas Howard from the University of Virginia.
Zimmerman, a 6’3″, 220 pound infielder from Tinley Park, Illinois will join the Mallards after his second season with the Huskies. So far in 2012, he is hitting .245 with three home runs and 12 RBIs. In 2011 he batted .326 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs and was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American selection. He was also named a Second-Team Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year. He was named First-Team All-MAC after starting 55 out of 56 games.
“Jeff is the type of bat that I think people have become accustomed to seeing in the middle of the order in our league,” said Mallards Manager Greg Labbe. “Obviously his size and strength jump out at you, but he is a really good athlete that can handle himself well around the bag at 1st. With his raw bat speed and the dimensions of our ballpark I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jeff make a run at the single season home run record.”
Zimmerman spent the summer of 2011 playing for the Hannibal Cavemen of the Prospect League. He played in 54 games and hit .280 with seven home runs and 44 RBIs.
He attended Victor J. Andrew High School where he was an All-Area Team selection by Southtown Star and IHSBCA. His senior season he hit .424 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. He was also named to the South West Suburban Conference First-Team twice and was an All-State selection his senior season. He is a business major at Northern Illinois.
Howard, a 6’3″, 210 infielder and pitcher from Olney, Maryland is set to join the Mallards after his first season for the Cavaliers. So far in 2012, he has batted in 14 games, including seven starts. He is batting .355 with two RBIs and seven runs scored in just 31 at-bats. He also has pitched 6.2 innings out of the bullpen, has yet to give up a run, and has 11 strikeouts.
“Nicholas is another one of our very talented freshman that we will have this summer in Madison,” said Labbe. “He can play any of the four infield positions and there is a chance you will see him on the mound where he can run his fastball into the low-90’s. He is a very strong young player that can hit anywhere in the line-up, and that will make him very important to what we are trying to accomplish this summer in Madison.”
He went to St. John’s High School where he was a two-time Washington Catholic Athletic Conference First-Team selection and was the number one recruit out of Maryland according to national scouting service Perfect Game. He hit .403 with 28 RBIs his senior season. He also pitched 31.1 innings and finished with a 3-2 record, and 1.56 ERA. He major is still undecided at Virginia.
The Mallards will host their season opener against the Battle Creek Bombers on May 30th at 7:05 pm at the “Duck Pond.” 7-Game Packs, season, and group tickets are on sale now! Single-game tickets go on sale April 28th.
The Madison Mallards are part of the 16-team Northwoods League. The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate Baseball League in North America.
