The Mallards (10-6) will return to the Duck Pond tonight for the first time since Saturday in a matchup with the Battle Creek Bombers (9-7). The two teams played a two-game set to open the season in Battle Creek, where Madison outscored the Bombers 18-8 and outhit them 30-16 in the sweep. Hoping to regain the offensive firepower they displayed in the first week of 2016, Madison will try and use last night’s 18-hit, five home run game to springboard them back into consistency.
The Mallards will have Colin Brockhouse (Ball State) on the bump tonight, giving them as good a chance as they have in any contest. Brockhouse has been sensational in 2016, posting a 0.79 ERA across 11.1 innings of work, amounting to a 2-0 record. Brockhouse has struck out eight and allowed only 11 base runners.
Battle Creek will throw Max Ritchie (Brown) tonight, who pitched against Madison in the second game of the season. In that appearance, Ritchie pitched three frames, allowing four hits and an unearned run. The Mallards hit .333 off of him in that game.
On the season, Ritchie is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in nine complete innings. He has struck out seven and owns a 1.78 WHIP.
Madison will be looking at newcomers to contribute to this offense in the upcoming games, as Bryce Carter (Stanford) is joining the team for tonight’s game. A member of the Mallards in 2015, Carter hit .273 in 21 games last season. He will join fellow catcher Cam Comer (Virginia) and Nick Roark (Oral Roberts), who both made their debuts for Madison in last night’s win. Comer contributed to the home run parade with a long ball in the fifth inning.
Tonight’s game against Battle Creek will get underway at 7:05 pm. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting MallardsBaseball.com, calling the Mallards ticket office at 608-246-4277, or stopping in the ticket office at 2920 N Sherman Ave.
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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 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, 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 150 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.MallardsBaseball.com
