Madison, WI. – July 11, 2014. Six Madison Mallards players, including three Mallards pitchers, have been selected to play in the 2014 Northwoods League All-Star Game presented by Fiduciary Management, Inc. taking place on Tuesday, July 22nd at 6:45 pm at Kapco Park in Mequon, Wisconsin.
Closer Tim Black (Central Michigan) will look to enjoy success in Mequon along with Mallards first baseman Pete Alonso (Florida), outfielder Alex Bacon (North Florida), catcher Drew Carlile (Bradley), and pitchers Sterling Sharp (Eastern Michigan) and Christian Taugner (Brown).
Black holds a 0.78 ERA and leads the Northwoods League in saves with 12 after pitching 23 innings, striking out 28 while giving up just ten hits, five walks and two earned runs.
Alonso, a freshman out of Tampa, Florida has seven home runs to go along with his .311 average and has recorded 41 hits and 27 RBI in 35 games played.
The veteran Bacon, playing in his third Northwoods League season and second All-Star game, is batting .257 in 39 games with the club and has 35 hits, 32 runs, 14 RBI and three home runs in his second year with the Mallards. Bacon was selected to the 2012 Northwoods League All-Star Team as a member of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
The Fort Collins, Colorado native Carlile has been solid behind the plate for the Mallards this summer and holds a .274 average with 26 hits and 12 RBI.
Sharp, a freshman from Farmington Hills, Michigan, has struck out 30 opposing batters this season in 34.1 innings of work, and holds a 2.88 ERA , having given up 11 runs on 26 hits.
Rounding out the list of Mallards All Stars is the right handed hurler Taugner, who is 3-1 on the year with a 2.80 ERA in 41.2 innings pitched, having struck out 29 while giving up 13 runs on 40 hits.
This year's All-Stars were chosen in a vote by the 18 member teams of the Northwoods League. Ballots were cast by each team's field staff and media contacts.
The Lakeshore Chinooks will host their first Northwoods League's All-Star Game, and the festivities will begin with the All-Star Banquet on Monday, July 21, at the Ozaukee County Fair Grounds in the Columbia St. Mary’s Center at 5:00 p.m. The featured speaker will be the Commissioner of Baseball, Allan H. “Bud” Selig. In addition to Commissioner Selig the teams will be introduced by the Honorary Managers, Jim Gantner for the North Team and Robin Yount for the South Team. Live entertainment will follow the program. Tickets for the All-Star Banquet are $60 per person and can be purchased by calling the Lakeshore Chinooks offices at 262-618-4659.
On game day, Tuesday, July 22, the gates will open at Kapco Park at 3:30 p.m. Players will rotate through the VIP Photography Autograph Zone until 5:30 p.m. The Home Run Challenge will begin at 4:45 p.m. and feature a unique format. Nine players from each division will represent the North and South teams. Each player will receive six outs in their half of the inning and a nine inning competition will take place. The team with the most home runs hit after the nine inning exhibition will be declared the winner.
Mallards single game tickets are on-sale now. To purchase tickets, log on to MallardsBaseball.com, call 608-246-4277, or stop by the Mallards ticket office.
###
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 the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit MallardsBaseball.com.
