Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards have announced the signing of outfielders Will Krug and Adam Walton and left-handed pitcher Rob McDonnell from the University of Illinois.
Krug, a 5’9”, 165-pound junior from Park Ridge, Illinois will join the Mallards after his third season with the Illini. So far, in 2014 he is hitting .333 with 15 RBIs. He leads in the team in both runs (22) and stolen bases (13). As a sophomore in 2013 he hit .305 before missing the second half of the season due to an arm injury.
In 2012, he made 15 starts and 32 appearances as a freshman and hit .275. He attended Maine South High School where he earned All-Central Suburban League South Division honors in 2010 and lettered in baseball both his junior and senior seasons. He is majoring in civil engineering at Illinois.
Walton, a 6’1”, 190-pound sophomore from Buffalo Grove, Illinois will join the Mallards on a temporary contract to start the season. He is currently hitting .292 with nine RBIs and seven stolen bases for the Illini. He has made 22 appearances, including 19 starts. As a freshman in 2013, he made 11 appearances before breaking his finger which sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Walton starred at Stevenson High School where he was the number 19 prospect in Illinois in the class of 2012 by Prep Baseball Report. In 2011, he hit .370 with three home runs and 43 RBIs. He was a 2011 Under Armour Pre-Season All-American Top 25 prospect and a Perfect Game Pre-Season High Honorable Mention All-American. He is majoring in recreation, sport, and tourism at Illinois.
McDonnell, a 6’2”, 205-pound redshirt junior from Barrington, Illinois will come to Madison following his third season playing at Illinois. The southpaw is currently 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA. He has made six appearances, including three starts and has 20 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. He made six appearances in 2013 and finished with a 3.52 ERA. In 2012, he made just two appearances before being shut down for the season with arm soreness. He was the team’s number two starter at the time of his injury. He redshirted his freshman season while recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
McDonnell was ranked as the 32nd best prospect in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report in 2010 before his senior season at Barrington High School. He was a 2009 Mid-Suburban League Selection after going 9-3 with a 2.10 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. He led Barrington to the IHSA Class 4A super-sectional game. He is majoring in recreation, sport, and tourism at Illinois.
The Mallards host their season opener on Tuesday, May 27th at 7:05 pm when they take on the Kalamazoo Growlers. Mallards single game tickets go on-sale on April 26th at 9:00 am. Tickets will be available by visiting MallardsBaseball.com or calling the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit MallardsBaseball.com.
