Madison, Wis. – After earning their first win of the second half yesterday in Battle Creek, the Madison Mallards (1-5, 29-13) host the Kenosha Kingfish (5-1,18-22) at Warner Park tonight at 7:05 PM. Tonight’s game features A1 Furniture and Mattress Princess Night. Gates will open at 5:30 PM for appearances by Anna, Elsa and Rapunzel.
After a spectacular first half of the season, the Mallards have struggled so far in the second half. The Mallards will be helped by their return to the Duck Pond as Mallards hitters are batting .295 at home this season compared to just .267 on the road. Madison still leads the league in batting average despite a tough stretch over the last week, holding a .278 team batting clip.
Probable Pitchers
The Mallards plan to start Dartmouth righty Cole O’Connor. O’Connor has made two strong starts since first being featured in the Mallards starting rotation. O’Connor has lasted 6.0 innings in both outings and has allowed a combined three runs while striking out 14. Overall, O’Connor holds a 3.24 ERA this summer through 16.2 innings on the mound.
Kenosha is scheduled to start right-hander Joe Vranesic. Vranesic has made three starts this summer and owns a 1-2 record and a 6.58 ERA. Vranesic’s best outing was his last start, a 6.0 scoreless outing against the Dock Spiders. Vranesic will be facing the Mallards for the first time this summer.
Players to Watch
Mallards infielder Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) currently holds a nine game hitting streak and has knocked in runs in three straight ballgames. Schwecke has been a threat on the bases all summer as he leads the team with 15 stolen bases.
Mallards utility man Jake Randa (NW Florida State) has collected six hits over his last three games and homered in yesterday’s win. Randa has knocked in a team-high 35 runs this season and has bumped his average up to .333.
For tickets and more information visit mallardsbaseball.com. Make sure to catch every Mallards game game on The Zone, 1670 AM and 96.7 FM.
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The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.mallardsbaseball.comor download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Mallards as your favorite team.
