Madison, WI – April 2, 2012. The Mallards have announced the signing of freshman left-handed pitcher Bobby Poyner from the University of Florida and sophomore outfielder Jack Livingston from Northwestern University.
Poyner, a 6’0″, 205 pound pitcher from Wellington, Florida will join the Mallards after his first season with the Gators. So far in 2012, he is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in nine appearances and two starts.
“Bobby played for the same high school coach as I did and with the coaching he is receiving at Florida he should be one of the more polished players on this year’s squad,” said Mallards Manager Greg Labbe. “He is a fierce competitor that has pitched a lot of big games already as a freshman, and I expect that he will not be bothered playing in front of some of the crowds we get in Madison. Bobby has great stuff and has been a winner both in high school and now in college.”
Poyner attended Palm Beach Central High School where he was named All-Area his final three seasons, and All-County his junior and season years. He led the Broncos to back-to-back district championships in 2009 and 2010. His senior season he was 6-1 with a 1.91 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. He also hit .404 while being named the team MVP. He is majoring in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Florida.
Livingston, a 6’4″, 210 pound outfielder from Kalamazoo, Michigan is in his second season with the Wildcats. So far in 2012 he is batting .357 in 14 games including eight starts. He also has an on-base percentage of .500. He has made one appearance out of the bullpen pitching one inning and giving up no runs. In 2011 he was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after hitting .340 with one home run and 17 RBIs. He played in 46 games and made 24 starts while leading the team with a .462 on-base percentage. He also pitched 6.2 shut out innings in six appearances.
“Jack is an excellent athlete that gives us a solid two-way option throughout the summer,” said Labbe. “He should be able to play either of the corner outfield positions, pitch out of the bullpen, or even work himself into a starting role at some point during the season. Jack was one of the best freshman hitters last season in the Big Ten and I know he will continue that success for us this summer in Madison.”
Livingston spent the summer of 2011 playing for the Oahu Paddlers of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League. He hit .328 while playing in 20 games including 16 starts. He finished with a 3.00 ERA and 4-1 record on the mound. He made 11 appearances, including four starts as a pitcher and had 35 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Livingston attended Portage Northern High School where as a senior he was named Michigan’s Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after he hit .435 with a school record 12 home runs and 42 RBIs. He was a three-time All-Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference selection and a two-time All-Region selection. He was also named First-Team All-State following his senior season. His anticipated major at Northwestern is economics.
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.
