Published On: June 27th, 2015

6-27 pre game CROPPEDMadison, Wis. (June 27) – After erupting for four home runs, six extra-base hits and 13 total base knocks in a convincing 11-4 victory over the Kenosha Kingfish (20-12) Friday night at the Duck Pond, field manager Donnie Scott and the Madison Mallards (19-13) will look for a similarly powerful performance when they host the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (14-15) on Saturday at Warner Park. First pitch for tonight’s contest is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

“They just came out aggressive, and that’s what it’s all about,” Scott said after last night’s win. “They really let it go tonight, especially the top of the lineup – that was incredible. I thought he (Matt Bower) was outstanding. His breaking ball got sharper as he went; I don’t know about velocity. But he just started getting more bite. He got the ball up a little bit (at times), but he made the adjustment, started to get the ball down. He got more aggressive, too.”

Tonight, the Mallards will call upon Nate Hoffmann (Middle Tennessee State) to deliver another solid showing on the mound as their starting pitcher. Hoffmann, currently sporting a 3-0 record this summer, holds true to a 2.36 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 15:5 K/BB ratio across his first four appearances (19 IP) of the season. Three of his four starts to this juncture have quality starts. Opponents have managed just a .181 batting average against Hoffmann.

The Rafters will counter with left-handed pitcher Jack Riley (Connecticut) to make his third start of 2015 in this evening’s series opener. Riley, a 6-foot-1 southpaw originally from West Boylston, Mass., is 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 19.2 total frame, fanning 13 batters and issuing seven walks. Back on May 31, Riley tallied four innings against the Mallards at Witter Field in which he allowed one unearned run home with five strikeouts and four walks.

  • Potent at the Top – Logan Regnier (Central Michigan), Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s College), Cameron Frost (Washington State) and Jean Ramirez (Illinois State) went a combined 11-for-20 (.550) from the top four spots in Madison’s order Friday night against Kenosha. Gonsolin also tabbed a double and single in the contest, raising his season batting average to .324 and on-base-plus-slugging percentage to a team-best .937.
  • Saturday’s Roster Move – The Mallards have announced that left-handed pitcher Logan Browning (Florida) has joined the active roster for tonight’s game and will contribute for the remainder of the summer on a full-time contract. This spring, Browning tabbed 8.2 innings of relief on the mound for the Gators, striking out six hitters. At the plate, he batted .200 and scored six runs over 30 total at-bats.

For tickets to tonight’s game, call the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277 or visit www.MallardsBaseball.com for more information.

###

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.

Latest News