Madison, Wis. (June 19) – After clinching a series sweep of the Kalamazoo Growlers in comeback fashion Thursday night, the Madison Mallards (12-11) will return to the Duck Pond on Friday for the first of a two-game set with the Kenosha Kingfish (19-5). Tonight will be Valpak Great Outdoors Night at Warner Park, featuring a Pespi Outdoorsman Maynard Bobblehead Giveaway presented by WKOW TV. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Mallards field manager Donnie Scott will turn to right-handed pitcher A.J. Bogucki (North Carolina) in tonight’s series opener. Bogucki, a returner from last season’s roster, is 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA and five strikeouts across his first three appearances (8.1 IP) of this summer. The 6-foot-3 native of Gilbertsville, Penn., made nine appearances (three starts) during his sophomore collegiate campaign this past spring, striking out 23 and holding opponents to a .246 average.

To counter, the Kingfish will assign right-handed pitcher Josh Serio (UW-Parkside) with his fifth start of the 2015 season. The 6-foot-1 native of Greenfield, Wis., is undefeated (4-0) with a 0.39 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 31 strikeouts (second-most in the Northwoods League) across his first four outings. His productive start to the summer comes on the heels of a spring campaign in which he went 5-4 with a 4.00 ERA and 8.85 K/9 ratio across a total of 63 innings.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Mallards waived catcher Mike Aiello (Madison College) and left-handed pitchers Martin Andonov (Bulgaria) and Justin Hill (Southeastern CC). Madison has activated catcher Collin Theroux (Delta College) to its active roster and signed catcher Jason Goldstein (Illinois) to a full-time contract for the remainder of the season. Theroux batted .273 with eight home runs this spring, while Goldstein mashed as many home runs and batted .286 for Illinois.

• Diekroeger’s Dominant Start – Mallards third baseman Mikey Diekroeger (Stanford) contributed to Madison’s comeback effort on Thursday with a 2-for-4 batting line that included a double, one run scored, one run batted in and one walk drawn. The sophomore-to-be holds true to a .345 batting average (10-for-29) and .424 on-base percentage across his first 29 at-bats of the summer and has struck out only once in that span.
• Corbin’s Torrid Pace – Mallards reliever Corbin Olmstead (North Florida) tallied four shutout innings of late relief in Thursday night’s victory, whiffing four hitters, walking none and allowing six hits. The 6-foot-3, power-armed right-hander has allowed just three earned runs across 18.1 innings this summer, giving him a 1.44 ERA. Olmstead has also struck out 26 batters in that span and held opposing lineups to a .136 batting average.

For tickets to tonight’s game, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit MallardsBaseball.com for more information. Unable to attend? Follow the team on Twitter at @MadisonMallards for notes and updates throughout tonight’s contest or listen live on 100.5 FM ESPN Madison for play-by-play coverage.

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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.