Madison, Wis. (August 6) – Inching closer to a second-half South Division title with two comeback victories against the Alexandria Blue Anchors to open the final week of the regular season, the Madison Mallards (20-11, 40-26) will look to sustain their momentum on Thursday at the Duck Pond against the Battle Creek Bombers (13-20, 26-42). Tonight’s contest will mark the beginning of the final regular-season home series of 2015 for the Mallards, who with five straight wins sit 2.5 games behind Kenosha for first place in the second-half divisional standings. Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Tonight, the Mallards will turn to starting rotation anchor A.J. Bogucki (North Carolina) to supply a strong outing in his tenth starting appearance of the summer. Bogucki, a 6-foot-3 right hander in his second season with the Mallards staff, enters tonight’s contest on the heels of an impressive showing in Tuesday’s Major League Dreams Showcase in which he fanned two hitters in a perfect inning of relief. Overall, the Gilbertsville, Penn., native is 3-4 with a 4.20 ERA across 40.2 innings with Madison’s rotation, managing a 35:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a .299 opponent slugging percentage.
Battle Creek, winners of eight of their last 10 contests coming into tonight, will turn to right-handed pitcher Griffin Weir (Stanford) to counter Bogucki in tonight’s series opener. The 6-foot-4 right-hander from Amherst, Ohio, surrendered 10 earned runs across five innings in his most recent start on July 31 against Kalamazoo – a performance the Bombers overcame on their way to a 14-12 victory. Overall, Weir’s first campaign in the Northwoods League has produced an 0-3 record, 8.50 ERA and 22:20 K/BB ratio in 24.1 frames. Opponents have reached base at a .410 clip against him.
Thursday’s contest will include a free Charter Communications Trading Card Giveaway, while supplies last, and a Dr. Jay Hazen toothbrush giveaway for fans in attendance. Continuing the Mallards 2015 Pizza Bus Celebrity Chef Series, Laila Borokhim of Layla’s Persian Food will also serve up pizzas and appetizers in the Double-Decker Pizza Bus. For tickets, 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 @MadisonMallards or tune into 100.5 FM ESPN Madison’s 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.
