Madison, Wis. – The Madison Mallards (11-9, 39-17) take on the Kalamazoo Growlers (11-10, 35-21) tonight at 6:05 PM at Warner Park. Tonight is the first visit that the Growlers have made to the Duck Pond this summer and tonight’s game features post-game fireworks and Madison Pro Soccer Night. Gates open at 4:30 PM so make sure to arrive early to get a Madison Pro Soccer scarf!
After holding a nine-game winning streak, the Mallards fell in Rockford last night. The Mallards will look to bounce back tonight against a Kalamazoo team that they have beaten three out of four times this season. The Mallards have a .297 batting average as a team against the Growlers and have totaled five home runs over the four ballgames.
Probable Pitchers
The Mallards plan to send Dartmouth righty Cole O’Connor to the mound tonight as he searches for his third win of the summer. O’Connor will be making his fifth start and currently holds a 3.47 ERA and has struck out 20 batters over 23.1 innings of work. O’Connor worked three scoreless innings in a relief appearance against the Growlers earlier this summer.
The Growlers will start Penn State righty Kyle Virbitsky. Virbitsky is 3-1 this summer through nine starts and has worked 49.0 innings. Virbitsky will be making his first start against the Mallards and has made a pair of 7.0-inning scoreless starts over his last two outings.
Players to Watch
InfielderTrevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) has four hits over his last three games and had a game-winning triple two nights ago in Madison. Schwecke owns a .301 average and a .375 OBP this summer.
Third baseman Tyler Plantier (Richmond) leads the South Division with 12 home runs this summer and owns a .403 OBP. Plantier went 1-for-3 with a walk in last night’s loss.
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.
