Madison, Wis. – On Monday, June 8, the Madison Mallards (7-5) will partake in the finale of a two-game road series against the Kenosha Kingfish (8-4) at Simmons Field.
Today’s contest – scheduled for 6:35 p.m. – comes on the heels of a 5-1 Kingfish victory in Sunday afternoon’s opener. Play-by-play coverage will be available on 100.5 FM ESPN Madison.
Matt Bower (Washington State) will be allotted his second start of the season tonight against Madison’s South Division foe. The 6-foot-5 southpaw on June 3 constructed one of the best starting pitching performances of any Northwoods League pitcher this summer, waving 10 of 18 batters faced across five shutout frames in a victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs. An impressive 72.7% of his pitches were strikes, nine of which induced a swing-and-miss.
Right-handed pitcher Andrew Zapata (Connecticut) will tally his third start of the season for Kenosha in tonight’s series finale. The 5-foot-11 junior-to-be has performed admirably across his first two starts – 12.2 innings – of 2015, striking out 14 batters, walking six and conceding zero earned runs to his opponents. Originally from Staten Island, N.Y., Zapata went 5-1 with a 4.25 ERA and 47 strikeouts during his sophomore collegiate campaign this spring.
Bullpen Stays Strong – Despite a cumulative earned run average of 5.90 from its starting pitchers over the last three games, Madison’s bullpen has remained strong during the losing streak. As a unit, Mallards relievers have posted a 2.11 ERA with 16 strikeouts and three walks between 17.1 combined innings.
The Mallards will return home on Tuesday, June 9 against the Green Bay Bullfrogs (6:35 p.m. first pitch). Tuesday night will feature The Human Cannonball presented by Endres Manufacturing. For tickets, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit MallardsBaseball.com for more information.
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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
