Madison, WI – July 25, 2014. After falling last night in Mequon to the Lakeshore Chinooks (16-3, 40-13), the Madison Mallards (12-10, 30-25) square off against the South Division leaders to wrap up a home-and-home series tonight at the “Duck Pond.” First pitch is slated for 7:05 pm.
Mallards starter A.J. Bogucki (North Carolina) will look for his fourth win after tossing six innings in his last start, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five in a 8-2 win over the Willmar Stingers.
Bogucki holds a 4.45 ERA in his nine appearances, having struck out 28 in 34.1 innings pitched.
On the mound for the Chinooks is 6’1”, 190-pound righty Sterling Koerner. The freshman out of Florida Gulf Coast has yet to start a game for the Chinooks but has compiled a 3-1 record in eight appearances, holding a 1.17 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work.
His last appearance, Koerner went three complete innings, blanking the La Crosse Loggers on two hits while striking out four in a 5-4 win.
Last night, the Mallards fell to the Chinooks by a score of 13-3 after the Chinooks took an early lead, scoring one run in the first and adding three in the second.
The Mallards would bring the deficit to two when left fielder Tyler Allen (Virginia) grounded into a fielders choice to score center fielder Alex Bacon (North Florida) in the third and right fielder Connor Marabell (Jacksonville) scored on catcher Matt Thaiss’s (Virginia) RBI single in the fourth. Thaiss finished 2-for-3 with one RBI.
The Chinooks went on to score one in the fourth, four in the sixth and four in the eighth.
Mallards starter Rob McDonnell (Illinois) tossed two innings, allowing four hits while walking three in the loss.
Chinooks righty James Teague (Arkansas) earned the win after pitching five innings, giving up two runs on four hits while walking five.
The Mallards currently sit 5.5 games back of the Chinooks in the second half South Division standings, and a game and a half back of the second place Wisconsin Woodchucks and Kenosha Kingfish. In the overall standings, the Mallards are tied for third place with the Kenosha Kingfish, one game back of the Woodchucks.
The Mallards can advance to the Northwoods League playoffs by winning the second half, or finishing second in the overall standings if the Chinooks win the second half.
Tomorrow, the Mallards stay at the “Duck Pond” for a 6:05 pm start against the Green Bay Bullfrogs.
On Saturday there will be a Diamond Center Diamond Dig post-game, and the game will feature an Ice Cream Scoop Giveaway and Post-Game Fireworks presented by Charter Communications. There will also be a Zimbrick Honda Free Kids Clinic from 10 am to noon.
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.
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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 the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit MallardsBaseball.com.
