Madison, Wis. (June 26) – Falling short of a comeback victory Thursday night at Simmons Field, field manager Donnie Scott and the Madison Mallards (18-13) will look for a rebound performance when they return to the Duck Pond for the finale of a two-game set with the Kenosha Kingfish (20-11) at Warner Park on Friday.

Tonight will be Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Appreciation Night and Social Media Night at the Duck Pond, featuring a Mueller Maynard Bobblehead giveaway at the front gates while supplies last. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Despite tallying as many hits (5) as the Kingfish in Thursday’s pivotal series opener, the Mallards were held scoreless through the first eight innings. Kenosha, meanwhile, tagged Mallards starter A.J. Bogucki (North Carolina) with two runs in the bottom of the first and two more in the fifth before adding another in the eighth off Tyler Frohwirth (Minnesota State) for good measure. Three hits in the top of the ninth led to two runs for Madison, but Kingfish reliever J.R. Holloway ended any hopes of a comeback with his strikeout of Logan Regnier (Central Michigan) with the bases juiced.

Hoping for a bounce-back performance from his starting rotation, Scott will send left-handed pitcher Matt Bower (Washington State) to the hill for his fifth start of the summer in tonight’s series finale. Bower, who allowed two earned runs across 6.1 frames en route to a no-decision against the Kingfish on June 20, carries a 1-1 record, 3.68 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and .236 opponent batting average over his first 22 innings of the season. The 6-foot-5 southpaw has worked the zone effectively in his previous five appearances, tabbing a 66.4 percent strike rate on his way to a 21:4 K/BB ratio.

After watching Josh Serio craft an impressive outing – 7.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K – against the Mallards on Thursday, the Kingfish will turn to right-handed pitcher Rico Garcia (Hawaii Pacific) tonight at the Duck Pond. The 5-foot-11 native of Kapolei, Hi., extended his scoreless innings streak to 12 with an admirable performance June 20 at Warner Park, spinning a seven-inning shutout in which he allowed just two hits and struck out eight Mallards batters. Overall, opponents have managed just a .135 batting average over 40 plate appearances against Garcia this summer.

• Down to the Wire – The Mallards sit two games behind Kenosha for first place in the Northwoods League’s South Division with five games remaining in the season’s first half. Madison will host Wisconsin Rapids for a two-game set beginning Saturday and end the first half with a double-header at La Crosse next Monday, June 29.
• Social Media Extravaganza – As a reminder, tonight will be Social Media Night at the Duck Pond. Attending fans are encouraged to use the #MallardsMania and #MallardsSocial hashtags and tag the Mallards Twitter account @MadisonMallards for a chance to receive a re-tweet and exclusive prizes.

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

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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.