Madison, Wis. – Maintaining the South Division’s top record with an extra-inning triumph at Lakeshore Tuesday night, the Madison Mallards (6-1) will participate in the opener of a two-game home set with the Green Bay Bullfrogs this evening. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. from Warner Park.
Matt Bower (Washington State) will receive his first start of the season for the Mallards. Bower, a 6-foot-5 left-handed pitcher originally from Federal Way, Wash., went 7-3 with a 4.79 ERA across 27 collegiate appearances (47.0 IP) this spring, striking out 53 and holding opponents to a .257 batting average. His first relief appearance of the season yielded three punch-outs and no runs over two frames on May 30.
To counter, the Bullfrogs will task Mike Ellenbest (Saginaw Valley State) with his second start of the summer. The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher was awarded a winning decision in his first outing of 2015, during which he conceded two runs – none earned — on one hit, four walks and four strikeouts across 6.1 innings May 27 against La Crosse. This spring, Ellenbest went 5-3 on his way to a 2.57 ERA over 49.0 innings.
From the Manager: “It was a really good game,” said Mallards field manager Donnie Scott on last night’s late win against the Chinooks. “We jumped out early to that six run lead, but they came back. Eleventh inning came with the bases loaded for us and Chris (Tschida) came up with the big hit; guys were running well on the bases all night.”
Olmstead Wows in Debut: Corbin Olmstead (North Florida) joined the Mallards roster for the first time on Tuesday and didn’t disappoint, whiffing all six batters he faced over two innings of scoreless relief. “Corbin (Olmstead) had a good fastball and a great slider – I mean, it was unbelievable,” said Scott. “He’s a great addition.” Madison’s bullpen struck out a combined 12 hitters across just 6.2 frames.
Tyler Takes Off: Scott Tyler (Ball State) provided much of the firepower to Madison’s extra-inning victory Tuesday night at Lakeshore, going 1-for-4 with a walk and his first home run of the summer. The left-handed batting senior-to-be leads all Mallards hitters with an OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage) of 1.039 through seven games with a sterling batting average of .313.
Wednesday’s Promotion: Tonight will be Joey’s Song Epilepsy Awareness Night at the Duck Pond, with Mallards players donning purple jerseys to be auctioned off during the game. There will also be a pre-game skydiving and tandem skydive giveaway presented by Great Lakes Skydiving.
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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 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com
